EV Board Advised To Delay Bond Effort

The East Valley School District will not try to pass a bond issue this year if the school board follows a recommendation made at its meeting Tuesday.

The district has failed its past three bond issue attempts and plans to continue gathering community input before trying a fourth time, Superintendent Chuck Stocker said.

A grass-roots campaign at each school will help the district develop a possible bond timeline in time for the board’s next meeting, Stocker said.

He said this will allow the district to gather more input from the community and put out more information. The extra time will also allow the district to consider the community’s tax rate this year.

In other business, the board decided to accept bids for two parcels of surplus property - a house behind the administration building and a 12-acre site on Campbell Road that was being held for a future elementary school.

The district wants someone to buy the house and cart it away so the land can be turned into parking space, Stocker said.

Once the 12-acre site is sold, the district will look to purchase 40 acres in the area for an elementary and middle school, Stocker said. The new elementary school will probably sit on 15 acres, he said.

The land “has been sitting there,” Stocker said. “We know we still need a (school) site in that area.”

The school board also decided against allowing noncurriculum student groups to meet during school lunch periods.

“If we open it at lunch, we might get into the situation of where do we draw the line,” Stocker said. “We’ll be consistent and keep it before and after school.”