Bid To Ease School Bond Passage Killed House Committee Buries Measure Aimed At Rolling Back Supermajority

The third time’s a charm when it comes to passing school bond elections.

And with that belief, a house panel killed a bill Thursday that would have made it easier for local districts to get cash for school buildings.

“They eventually pass,” Rep. John Tippets, R-Bennington, said of school bond levies. “Look and see how many fail. They pass when it’s something people will support.”

But supporters pleaded with the House State Affairs Committee to let Idaho voters decide how to raise their property taxes to pay for better school buildings.

The bill would have amended the state constitution, giving voters the opportunity to reduce the two-thirds supermajority needed to pass a school bond election. A vote of 60 percent would have been required for a bond to pass.

Sen. Jack Riggs, R-Coeur d’ Alene, could not understand why the bill was killed, because it let voters decide whether to get rid of the supermajority.

To ensure higher voter turnout, the measure would have restricted school districts to holding the bond elections on primary and general election dates. Districts could have run elections at other times, but then the supermajority would have applied.

Rep. Jeff Alltus, R-Hayden, voted against the bill. Though it often takes at least two tries to pass school bonds, he said, voters agree to increased property taxes when the need is great enough.

Alltus and other opponents said the supermajority requirement prevents people who do not pay property taxes from swaying school bond elections.

Idaho provides no state funding for school buildings, leaving the entire cost to local property taxpayers.

Twenty-two school bond elections were held in Idaho last year. Of those, only seven passed.

In 1996 and 1997, Post Falls voters twice gave more than 62 percent approval to a bond to build a high school, but the effort failed because it didn’t hit the 66.67 percent mark.

On March 24, the Post Falls School District will ask voters again for $17.97 million to build a new high school. Voters also have the option of approving an additional $2.89 million bond to build an athletic complex and replace the heating system at the school.

This bill wasn’t the first school building proposal dumped this session.

Lawmakers killed Idaho Schools Superintendent Anne Fox’s attempt to raise the state’s sales tax by half a percent. They also stomped out a move by Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, to divert $15 million a year in sales tax revenues to school buildings.

And the trend has existed for years.

“This is my eighth year on state affairs, and this issue has been before me every time,” said Rep. June Judd, D-St. Maries, who was for the supermajority rollback.

Alltus acknowledged the proposal had good features but said the idea needs work. He’s willing to look at other measures working their way through the Senate.

Alltus supports a bill that would save school districts millions in interest on school construction bonds by having the state guarantee the bonds.

Sens. John Hansen, R-Idaho Falls, and Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum, are sponsoring a bill calling for a committee to come up with a plan to consider in the next legislative session. Many lawmakers support the effort.

Even supporters of the proposed supermajority rollback said that the bill was only a small piece in solving Idaho’s school building problems.

, DataTimes