West Ada, Middleton districts twice asked for more tax money. What voters just decided

Voters just gave the West Ada and Middleton school districts what they wanted: They renewed two-year supplemental property-tax levies that school officials said were necessary to preserve jobs and restore other cuts in education budgets.

Both measures failed narrowly on the May ballot, so the school boards decided to try again.

West Ada: Passage preserves jobs

The West Ada levy passed Tuesday with 19,583 votes, or 52.7% of votes cast, in Ada County. 17,551 Ada County voters, or 47.3%, opposed the levy.

The district also includes a small portion of Canyon County. There, 40 voters opposed the levy and 25 favored it — not enough to overcome the victory in Ada County.

The same $28 million levy failed on the May ballot, with 46% of voters supporting it then.

The district said it needed the money to avoid job cuts and maintain school calendar days. Idaho Education News previously reported that passing the levy would help stave off other possible cuts, such as leaving 10 certified jobs and 10 classified jobs unfilled, and allow the state’s largest district to keep its $27 million budget reserve intact.

The levy accounts for about 5 percent of West Ada’s annual budget.

Middleton: Passage permits lower athletic fees

Middleton requested $3 million to restore some spending that it cut previously, including some jobs, and to reduce the amounts students must spend to participate in sports.

The measure passed with 1,869 votes, or 52.3%. 1,706 voters, or 47.7%, opposed it. Forty-eight percent of voters favored it in May.

This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 8:52 AM.