Madison School District seeks renewal of operational levy
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REXBURG — An operational levy that has provided Madison County School District 321 with nearly one million dollars in textbooks is up for renewal on Aug. 30.
“We’re asking the voters to approve a renewal of the levy that has been in place since 2014,” Superintendent Geoffrey Thomas said. “We’re not anticipating a tax increase at any time.”
The operational levy will be used to purchase high-resolution security cameras for schools parking lots and buses, upgrades to computer labs and mobile learning devices, updated curriculum books and materials, according to a news release.
It will also restore two instructional days that were cut during the recession, purchase six new school buses — three for each year of the levy.
Thomas said the operational levy has been beneficial to the school district.
“We’ve been able to purchase over 800 computers plus mobile devices for students — like Chromebooks and iPads,” he said. “We’ve purchased over 200 security cameras to enhance security in our elementary and secondary schools. We’ve purchased nearly a million dollar’s worth of curriculum.”
The purchase of six new school buses is a change to the original levy passed in 2014. But will not require a tax increase.
“One of the goals of the school board was to make sure that there wasn’t a tax rate hike,” Thomas said. “We assured that by keeping the amount exactly the same.”