The Moscow School District is considering a plan that would create a new middle school and convert its existing middle school into a high school.
Trustees are set to hold an Aug. 7 board workshop to discuss running a bond or plant-facility levy this fall to pay for upgrades.
The discussion comes as ballot measures for school facilities grow harder to pass in Idaho. A school bond, which requires two-thirds of voter support, hasn’t passed in the state since May of 2024.
Districts are increasingly turning to plant-facility levies, which typically require 55% to 60% voter support. But it’s rare for the measures to bankroll construction for an entire new school.
Moscow trustees will next month weigh which option to send to voters in November.
The potential upgrades
The district hired two architectural firms to sketch plans that would create a combined middle and high school campus.
A new middle school. Lombard Conrad Architects on July 15 presented a concept of a new middle school, which would be located on Oylear Field across the street from the district’s current middle school.
The new school would feature a central commons/cafeteria space with a large library that includes a studio for creative projects.
The project would require redesigned traffic flows and feature new outdoor space.
The cost is estimated at $67.5 million, but that would rise with inflation the longer trustees discuss the project.
See the architect’s presentation here.
A converted high school. On July 16, trustees heard from Knit Architects, who created a concept for converting the existing middle school into a high school.
There would be three new additions to the school: an auditorium, career-technical classrooms and a commons area.
Existing classrooms would get new carpet, paint and flooring along with a new HVAC system and other behind-the-scenes upgrades.
“This would reset the building effectively,” Moscow Superintendent Shawn Tiegs said of the upgrades.
The architect also proposed converting the existing administration building to house a medical arts program.
It wasn’t immediately clear what would happen to the current high school and district office under the proposal. EdNews has reached out to Tiegs for additional details.
Upgrades for a new high school would be about $60 million. See the July 16 presentation here.
For both schools, the total would reach about $127 million. Tiegs noted that’s likely less than the cost to build just a brand new high school.
“We’re saving money, quite a bit,” trustee Ken Faunce said.
‘We’re behind’
Tiegs highlighted other long-term facility needs in a presentation to the board on July 22.
Since becoming superintendent three years ago, Tiegs said facility upgrades and updates have been a focus.
“We were behind and had lots of deferred maintenance on projects,” Tiegs said.
The district’s current high school, built in 1939, is near downtown Moscow and has limited room for expansion.
That has left the district with no place to host career-technical education courses that match those of other area districts. Tiegs argued the district’s limited alternative programs are one factor contributing to the high school’s roughly 80% four-year graduation rate.
“We haven’t over the last decades presented (students) with options to kind of be successful and connect,” Tiegs said.
The district hopes to expand medical arts, agriculture and business programs with the high school and middle school upgrades.
“You solve a lot of problems, and you create, ultimately, with both of those projects a central campus that’s very walkable,” Tiegs said.
Other proposed updates would include replacing the HVAC system at Lena Whitmore Elementary School and remodeling the former Russell Elementary building to house Paradise Creek Alternative High School.
Funding options
Paying for all the upgrades is a conundrum, though.
“No option will address every need at once,” Tiegs said.
The options he proposed to trustees include pursuing one large bond to complete the middle and high school projects, which would be paid back over 30 years. But any request over $100 million would be hard for voters to stomach, Tiegs said.
“I believe a two-thirds threshold is just actually really, really difficult in any environment,” Tiegs said.
Trustees could pursue two smaller bonds, but that could increase costs on projects delayed by inflation.
They could also pursue a plant-facility levy, which requires a lower voter approval threshold than a bond and would be paid back over a maximum of 10 years. The district could then use financing backed by future levy revenues to get the funds upfront. But even with that approach, a plant-facility levy would not generate enough money to cover both the new middle school and high school conversion.
Trustees could also do nothing and continue to work on small projects with the $12 million it has in facility funds from the state.
All the options have varying interest costs and would fund different projects.
Trustees will use the Aug. 7 meeting to discuss options. A vote on potential ballot language could happen at the board’s Aug. 26 meeting. Ballot language for the November election is due on Aug. 28.
