Caldwell School District’s bid to renew its $5.8 million supplemental levy has passed, with unofficial results early Wednesday showing 3,834 votes in favor and 3,801 against — a 33-vote lead for passage, or about 50.2% support. The close result recalls 2024, when a similar levy initially failed, leading to school closures and new fees for families.
According to Idaho Press, the measure needed 50% plus one vote to clear, and passed despite district officials’ pitch that the money was essential to keeping schools running. The proposed levy would have authorized $5.8 million annually for two years, starting July 1, 2027, and running through June 30, 2029, according to Caldwell School District. It would have replaced the district’s current $4.1 million supplemental levy, set to expire June 30, 2027.
What the Money Was Supposed to Cover
Among its proposed uses, the district listed allocations of $3.5 million for certified and classified staff, $550,000 for activities and athletics, $475,000 for behavioral and mental health support, $440,000 for student transportation, $225,000 for grounds upkeep and maintenance, and $175,000 for accelerated learning programs. The plan also included school safety and security as a proposed funding category. Officials had projected that state facilities funds would offset $4.7 million of the total cost each year, leaving taxpayers on the hook for roughly $1.04 million annually — about $17.96 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value.
District leaders framed the renewal as covering basic operational needs for the two years after the current levy expires. The proposal cleared the threshold by 33 votes, even with the bulk of the cost theoretically absorbed by the state.
A Painful Precedent From 2024
This isn’t the first time Caldwell voters have rejected a supplemental levy. The district’s current $4.1 million levy first failed in May 2024 before voters approved it on a second attempt that November, the earlier Idaho Press reporting noted. The fallout from that initial failure was severe: the district closed Lincoln Elementary School, shifted grade assignments at its two middle schools, cut student resource officers, and imposed a $100 pay-to-play fee for middle and high school athletes.
The Lincoln Learning Center now serves as home to the Caldwell School District office and the Boys and Girls Club. Idaho Education News reports that Caldwell has kept some form of supplemental levy on the books for more than 30 years, underscoring how unusual — and disruptive — repeated failures have become for the district.
Caldwell Wasn’t Alone on the Ballot
Caldwell’s narrow win came amid a mixed night for Idaho school levies statewide. Thirty-one districts sought supplemental levies totaling roughly $208 million, and with partial results in early Wednesday, 23 were passing while eight were failing, according to Idaho Education News. Boundary County, Middleton and Clearwater Valley also saw their levies fail, something the outlet described as a repeat of recent years, while levies in Payette and Kootenai were initially trailing as well.
Caldwell’s levy history has often come down to razor-thin margins. The district’s 2022 supplemental levy — the one whose renewal has now passed — originally passed by just 30 votes, according to the Post Register. That slim history of support makes this latest result especially consequential for the district.
