Voters in Pocatello and Chubbuck will be asked to support a multimillion-dollar bond to restore Highland High School if a massive facilities bill fails to gain traction in the Idaho Legislature.

The Pocatello-Chubbuck Board of Trustees on Thursday approved language for a proposal that would appear on the May 21 election ballot that asks local voters to approve a $33 million bond with a 10-year repayment plan to fund repairs and improvements to Highland following an April 21, 2023, fire that gutted the school’s D-Wing.

“If passed, the bond, in combination with insurance replacement monies, will fund the reconstruction of Highland High School as the project was proposed to local voters in November,” School District 25 said in a Thursday news release. “While a 56 percent majority of the community was in favor of the November bond proposal, the final vote tally did not meet the nearly insurmountable supermajority threshold (needed for it to pass).”

The $33 million bond would increase property taxes for district homeowners by $50 per $100,000 of taxable property value per year.

The previous bond to rebuild Highland High School was for $45 million and also called for improvements to Century High School. This new bond proposal includes just the improvements that were proposed for Highland in November, which included repairs to damaged facilities, construction of additional classrooms and an expansion of the gym, activity space and auditorium.

The bond proposal is somewhat of a backup plan, however, as the district awaits a final decision on House Bill 521 that is currently on its third reading on the state Senate floor.

“The decision to approve the bond resolution was made in light of the March 22 deadline to place the measure on the ballot,” School District 25’s news release said. “Without having completed the legislative cycle for approval, the pending status of Idaho House Bill 521 also played into the decision. HB 521 is currently stalled in the Senate. Once signed by Gov. Little, the new state facilities funding is projected to provide (School District 25) with $43 million. Should HB 521 be signed into law by the governor, the board authorized the administration to pull the bond election ballot language before printing.”

The Pocatello-Chubbuck school board initially set a date of March 25 as the last day it would be able to effectively pull the bond proposal from the May 21 election ballot, but the board was later made aware that it actually has until March 29 as a deadline to make that decision.

On Friday, School District 25 provided a public notice that the Board of Trustees plan to meet on Saturday to amend their Thursday motion to change the cutoff date to pull the bond proposal from March 25 to March 29 to allow some extra days for the Legislature to consider HB 521.

“We continue to await the results of this proposed legislation,” said board chair Deanna Judy. “With or without this new funding, we have a responsibility to return Highland High School to a fully functioning high school as soon as possible. The board is united in its commitment to accomplish the monumental task of addressing Highland’s critical needs and bring the school’s facilities up to today’s modern standards.”

School District 25 said it has “worked diligently with meticulous planning” involving both Highland and district administrators “to rebuild and restore the affected areas of the school as soon as possible” after the fire, ruled accidental and electrical in nature, “left behind a trail of lost or damaged facilities, including the gymnasium, cafeteria, weight room, band, orchestra and choir rooms.”

The district continued, “While the district met its goal to return learners and staff home to Highland High School with a traditional schedule for the 2023-24 school year, many of the school’s classes and extracurricular programs continue to function despite being temporally displaced to alternate locations. Funding provided by the bond will enable the district to undertake the comprehensive rebuilding project with a goal for completion in fall 2027.”

In total, the fire damaged about 75,000 square feet of space at the school. The renovation project calls for replacing facilities lost or damaged in the April 2023 fire; adding, remodeling and modernizing science classrooms; replacing and increasing the size of the gymnasium and activity space and constructing an auditorium.

The district said that throughout its decision making process, the school board has focused on the following goals for Highland.

— Educate learners in facilities designed for today’s standards

— Return all learners and extracurricular programs to the Highland campus

— Modernize Highland’s science and music classrooms to meet the evolving needs of a growing student population

— Restore the gymnasium as a central hub of physical, academic, social and cultural development, increasing the capacity and versatility of the facility to resume as the community-building heart of the school

— Restore functional gathering spaces critical to elevating the high school experience

— Build a functional auditorium to meet educational, cultural, and community needs

— Make prudent and fiscally responsible decisions

“I appreciate the board’s diligence in looking at this challenge from every angle to balance fiscal responsibility with our obligation to educate learners in safe and functional facilities that are conducive to their overall educational experience and development,” said School District Superintendent Douglas Howell.

School District 25 also stated in its news release that it has “consistently demonstrated responsible stewardship of local tax dollars.”

“The approval of the last bond proposal more than 25 years ago, which was refinanced and retired in 2017, not only saved taxpayers over $700,000 in interest but also left the district with zero bond indebtedness,” the district’s news release said. “Despite comprising only 12 percent of local tax collection, (School District 25) remains committed to maximizing educational resources and minimizing financial burden on taxpayers.”

Additionally, the School District 25 board believes that rebuilding Highland is not just an investment in educational facilities, but also an investment in the entire community’s economic vitality, the news release said.

“Every time we modernize our schools’ infrastructure, we build the capacity to create jobs, attract businesses and elevate property values, laying the foundation for a prosperous future,” School District 25 said. “The district continues to pledge an unwavering commitment to stretch every taxpayer dollar as far as it will go as we work together to position (School District 25) for a strong, successful future.”

For more information about the history of the project to rebuild Highland High School, visit sd25.us/fs/pages/5813.