Uniform? Not in this case

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second installment of a three-part series examining public school funding in Idaho.

SALMON - If there is a poster child for the argument that Idaho's legislators are not meeting their constitutional duty "to establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools," it is here.

Salmon School District 291's aging schools are crumbling.

School officials say new buildings are needed to ensure student safety. They've tried seven times to pass multimillion dollar bond levies to rebuild the facilities, but each bond has been overwhelmingly defeated by voters.

Located in one of Idaho's most-isolated areas, District 291 certainly isn't a rich district, but it isn't Idaho's poorest either.

Nonetheless, most community members feel Salmon's economy just can't support the added property taxes from a bond.

Superintendent Joey Foote admits that, while the district is poor, there are plenty of districts surrounding Salmon that are worse off.

Few of those districts, however, face the conundrum that exists here.

As long as the deadlock remains on school bonds, the district's students are not receiving the educational opportunities they are entitled to by Idaho's Constitution, Foote said.

"The state has a responsibility to provide a safe environment that also provides equal access and opportunity," Foote said. "(But) our kids don't have equal access and opportunity; there is no question about it."

A major impediment to the district's hope of being elevated to a level playing field with more affluent school districts is the state of its buildings. The district's central concern is the condition of Pioneer Elementary School built in 1956 and Salmon Middle School built in 1938.

"We believe these (schools) are an imminent hazard for our students and in the event of mild to moderate earthquake or snowfall they are at risk of structural failure," Foote said.

Both schools are marred by gaping cracks in walls and foundations, crumbling cement, leaning walls, poor heating and air quality and weak roofs.

School officials have struggled to keep the buildings in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act because of tiny bathroom stalls, narrow entrances, few ramps and no elevators.

The middle school had to abandon use of its second floor because it wasn't in compliance.

Foote pointed to a 2008 inspection report of the middle school which indicates "there are serious building safety problems in the building." The 2008 inspection of Pioneer states "the continual deterioration of the exterior foundation on the north wall presents a serious building safety hazard."

Everyone here is aware of the plight of the schools and agrees something needs to be done.

But there's no consensus on how to make improvements.

Lloyd Jones, a local carpenter, is an outspoken critic of the bond efforts.

In an ideal world a new school would be great, he said, but Salmon's economic conditions don't allow the population to support it.

"It's hard to convince people in a declining economy with a declining school population that somehow you need new schools," Jones said. "We're dealing with a limited tax base that is getting smaller every year."

Local unemployment is high and the community's population is aging.

"A good portion of the population here are retired and live on a fixed income," Salmon resident Mel Domko said. "Those folks don't have any kids in school and so when the district asks for a new school they say 'hold on a minute.'"

Jones suspects a bond will only pass if it's small and only used to make repairs.

"The patrons need to see the district making some effort to do what patrons do - make due with what you have to work with, repair it or patch it," Jones said. "As unrealistic as that may sound to people from better economically fixed areas, that's the way it has always been here."

Salmon's school board, however, maintains that the best long-term solution is to build new schools. The board is unwilling to consider short-term renovations as a viable solution.

"Given the price comparison between fixing and building new ... the board doesn't feel it's fiscally responsible to build and repair on these building," Foote said. "It would cost $7 to $8 million just to retrofit the Pioneer ... why would you invest dollars in something that's a three- to four-year fix compared to a 30-year fix?"

Foote isn't optimistic about the district's ability to pass a bond. That's why he's has undertaken what he considers the district's "last resort." He approached the state to use money from the Public Schools Facilities Cooperative Funding Program to build the new schools.

The funding program, put in place in 2006, attempts to balance the Legislature's constitutional obligations to students against the fiscal realities of rural districts.

"The fund was put into place to provide a mechanism (to build or repair new schools) for districts that had unsafe buildings, but were unable to get a school bond passed," said Marilyn Whitney, a State Board of Education spokeswoman.

A three-person panel will decide early next year whether District 291 is eligible to receive up to $15.8 million available in the fund. The panel also will decide whether to use the money to renovate, repair or demolish and rebuild the buildings.

If approved, the district would receive the money as a state-authorized plant facilities levy. The state would then levy taxes against Salmon School District patrons for up to 20 years to replenish the fund.

This is only the second application to the fund. Three years ago, the state spent nearly $11 million to build the new Lakeside Elementary School in the Plummer-Worley Joint School District 44.

The inadequacy of District 291's buildings affect more than just the safety of students and staff.

The buildings' electrical systems are taxed to their maximum.

"We're maxed out on the number of computers we can have," Salmon Middle School Principal Shawn Hendrickson said. "Our technology is out of date ... students don't have equal access to technology because we can't add the technology we need because our buildings won't handle it."

The district's technological limitations mean students here don't have access to curriculum and technology such as that offered to students in Idaho Falls School District 91 or Bonneville Joint School District 93.

"The challenge of a small community passing a levy opposed to a large community passing a levy is much greater," Foote said. "We make due, but why do we have to make do? Why don't we get to have the same technology (and resources) Idaho Falls has?"

For now Foote is optimistic about the state application, because he believes it's clearly evident that Salmon students are not receiving the uniform educational opportunities promised them by the state.

"Are our kids getting a good education? Yes they are, but are they getting what they could be getting? No, because we are limited by the tools we have," he said.