West Valley May Ask Voters Just For Classrooms District Hopes Proposal Will Fare Better Than Previous Requests

West Valley School District wants taxpayers to build 16 new classrooms.

No multi-purpose rooms, no music rooms, no offices.

Just room for the 75-100 students the district grows by each year.

A West Valley bond election on Feb. 6 will likely make this request. Officials don’t yet have a dollar figure for the bond, but have asked Architects West for an estimate.

Superintendent Dave Smith said a year ago that such a bare-bones request would likely cost about half of 1994’s bond proposal for $9.7 million.

That bond request and four others in a row have failed in West Valley. The last successful bond request passed in 1987.

West Valley also may ask voters to OK a day-to-day operations levy of $7.5 million for the next two years. The school board is expected to approve both the levy and bond request at its Wednesday meeting.

A survey this fall showed that 47 percent of the community agreed a new elementary would be a high priority or medium priority. A repeat of 1994’s bond request, with 16 classrooms, disability access work, multipurpose rooms, music rooms and new restrooms, rated a high or medium priority for 58 percent.

But 80 percent of those surveyed said building just 16 new classrooms would be a high or medium priority.

“When you look at that you say to yourself what does the community want?” Smith said. Bond requests need 60 percent approval to pass.

The operations levy request would mean a 1997 tax rate of $4.93 per $1,000 assessed property value, with a total $4.02 million. In 1998, the tax rate from the levy would drop to $4.06 per thousand, for a total $3.48 million.

The drop is due to a state law trimming back the amount of its budget a school district can raise through local property taxes. In 1997, the district would collect 28 percent of its operating expenses through local taxes. In 1998, that would drop to 24 percent.

The levy would replace a 1996 levy, with a tax rate of $4.97 per $1,000 in assessed property value.

Other Valley school districts, including East Valley, Central Valley and Freeman are also running operations levy elections on Feb. 6. East Valley and Central Valley are running bond requests, as well.

East Valley’s bond request for $12 million would pay for 16 new classrooms, plus a complete renovation of Trent Elementary.

Central Valley’s bond for $23 million would pay for a new elementary school at Liberty Lake, major renovation at Bowdish Junior High and other projects, some of which are required by law.

, DataTimes