Voters approve Weiser School District Plant and Facility levy

By: 
Philip A. Janquart
Voters on May 16 approved a four-year, $310,000 Plant and Facility levy that will help fund maintenance of the Weiser School District’s aging buildings.
 A total of 1,109 individuals went to the polls, with 689 (62.13%) voting in favor of the levy and 420 (37.87%) against, according to last week’s unofficial Washington County results.
 “We are happy that this proposal was approved by our voters,” said WSD Superintendent Wade Wilson, who is retiring at the end of the current 2022-23 school year. “Our community has always been very supportive of our students and our schools, in spite of the fact that the March levy didn’t pass. They showed their support with this levy, and we really appreciate that. We appreciate our community and their interest in our schools; that’s what makes us special.”
 The levy’s passing means the district will not be forced to dip into its general funds, which would have affected staffing.
 “We may end up having to do that a little bit anyway, but what this does, it is going to allow us to really address more items that are on our facilities maintenance and upgrade list, and we are going to be able to do that without taking more money from our general fund to do it,” Wilson told the Signal American on Wednesday, May 17. 
 “That helps us with our salaries; we’ll be able to continue using these dedicated funds for plant and facility maintenance and upgrades as opposed to having to dig into our general fund for that.”
 Wilson noted that he is not certain whether the levy will cover all items that need immediate maintenance attention.
 “I don’t know that we will be able to get everything on our priority 1 list, but we will certainly be close,” he said. “But, certainly, our priority list is going to continue to change as new things are identified or happen to us.”
 Though the recent levy represents a large amount of money and will go a long way in helping to maintain the district’s schools, Wilson said that the board will need to take a close look at looming issues.
 “There is no question that our board is aware of the age of our buildings, as well as the fact that we are outgrowing some of them and that a new facility is going to have to be considered in the near future,” he said. 
 “I wouldn’t tell you what that facility will be, only because we are pretty full at Pioneer School right now, so if we get an influx of kids, that’s an issue. The high school is pretty stuffed and that’s an issue. Park School has many, many access issues, so that is a concern. Weiser Middle School has a gym that is almost a hundred years old and that is a concern; I just think a very comprehensive look at the district conditions is going to have to go into deciding when and what facilities may be replaced in the future.”
 

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Signal American

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Weiser, ID 83672
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