Middleton is considering redrawing school boundaries, tightening in-district transfer policies and moving fifth-graders to middle school, after voters last month rejected a bond measure to build a new elementary building. 

Superintendent Marc Gee presented the plan at a school board meeting Monday, saying it would ease overcrowding at Middleton’s elementary schools. A $19.9 million bond measure failed in May, falling short of the required two-thirds supermajority.

“Obviously, (it’s) disappointing, but we are just going to keep moving on, trying to figure out what we did and what we can do better,” Gee said.

While they didn’t vote on the plan, trustees appeared receptive.

Currently, the plan would involve: 

• Shifting Purple Sage Elementary’s boundaries south and east to draw students from Middleton’s more densely populated areas.
• Requiring that in-district transfers return to their zoned schools.
• Moving fifth-graders to Middleton Middle School.

This three-pronged approach would alleviate capacity issues at Mill Creek and Heights elementary schools, Gee said. Heights ended this school year at about 150% capacity, and Mill Creek was around 114%. Purple Sage is at 80%.

“We have to equalize these things, just for the sake of learning,” trustee Jake Dempsey said.

Reshuffling the boundaries wouldn’t work without tightening transfer policies, Gee said. The district would ask students to return to their zoned school, with the exceptions of special education students, children of school employees and students who transferred for legal reasons like parental custody. 

Gee said he’ll return to the board next month with a proposal that trustees can approve or deny.

District seeks feedback on bond failure

Administrators are seeking feedback on the bond through multiple efforts, Gee said.

In each precinct, the bond failed to reach the necessary two-thirds supermajority. Idaho is one of two states that requires 66.7% support for a school bond. The largest percentage of votes against the bond came from the precinct where the new elementary school would’ve been built.

While Canyon County saw an 11% turnout in May’s election, Middleton’s turnout was closer to 20%. 

Trustee Jay Clark said Gee’s plan to ease overcrowding could correct “misconceptions” among voters who opposed the bond. Clark said he’s heard from voters who thought the district had “unused capacity” after learning Purple Sage was at 80% of capacity.  

“This will go a long way toward helping us with a future bond, by saying ‘No, we’re over capacity at all three schools,’” he said.  

Gee said the district is running a survey on social media and in local print media asking constituents to explain why they voted for or against the bond. As of Monday’s board meeting, the district has heard from about 375 patrons, and 21% of them said they voted against the bond.

Moving forward, Gee said he hopes outreach efforts — led by strategic planning and phone survey groups — will help voters better understand the district’s financial needs and where it draws support from.

Trustees approve new budget

Also Monday, the board approved a nearly $40 million budget for 2025-26. Trustees had discussed the budget at an earlier special meeting. 

One thing was missing from the approved budget: an insurance carrier. Alicia Krantz, the district’s business manager, said Middleton’s previous carrier, Idaho Counties Risk Management Program, has become too expensive. Middleton, like several other Idaho districts, is searching for a new alternative, she said.

As a placeholder in next year’s budget, Krantz said she filled in the $240,858 insurance costs from 2024-25, while the district searches for a new carrier.