NAMPA, Idaho — The Nampa School District is asking voters to approve a $16.8 million supplemental levy that would actually decrease taxes for local homeowners compared to the current levy.
The district's current levy expires in June at the end of the school year. Superintendent Gregg Russell said this proposal simply replaces it, but with additional state funding that reduces the burden on taxpayers.
LEARN MORE | Nampa School District's full supplemental levy guide
"It actually will be a tax decrease. And that's because the state is giving the Nampa School District more money this year to apply towards a supplemental levy," Russell said.
The state will cover $10.8 million of the total $16.8 million levy, meaning residents would only pay the remaining balance. This represents a significant reduction in what homeowners currently pay.
WATCH Superintendent Dr. Gregg Russell talk taxes and needs
"Currently right now folks are paying about $63 per $100,000 of taxable value. With the extra money that we're receiving from the state of Idaho, that will drop to about $40 per $100,000 taxable value. So a substantial drop," Russell said.
Russell emphasized that despite being called a "supplemental" levy, the funding is essential for school operations.
"I think it is a little misleading when we say supplemental though, because that implies that there's extra, but there's nothing that's extra about this. This is essential to the operations of our schools," Russell said.
After closing and consolidating four schools for the 2024 school year, Russell said enrollment losses are starting to stabilize. The district expects enrollment may begin increasing based on birth rate data and projections.
Meanwhile, continued growth in Nampa is strengthening the local tax base, which Russell sees as beneficial for future levy support.
"We still see the city of Nampa is growing. We know that they're building homes, and I think that's a good thing as well when it comes to tax base, because that will increase our tax base. The more homes that we have, the more ability we have to be able to access that to support our levy," Russell said.
The levy supports teachers, technology and extracurricular programs. Without it, Russell said the impacts would reach every classroom.
"You'd probably have larger class sizes and that impacts students just by having more students in a class," Russell said.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
