What happens if bond doesn’t pass?

Valley View PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) members posed a question yesterday on Facebook, “What happens if the Valley View Bond doesn’t pass?”

They answered as well, using data they requested of the School District 101 superintendent.

“The District could apply for the PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES COOPERATIVE FUNDING PROGRAM (Idaho Code 33-909), they wrote, followed with a compelling statement enshrined in the words of the legislation itself.

“This program was created to fulfill the State of Idaho’s responsibility for providing a ‘safe environment conducive to learning’ by providing a public school facilities funding program to enable qualifying school districts to address unsafe facilities identified as unsafe under the standards of the Idaho uniform school building safety act (Idaho Code Title 39, Chapter 80).

A Valley View student answered, and perhaps not as expected.

“I hope we never have to even consider the option the PTO is referring to,” she said.

Boundary County School District 101 has an amazing propensity for raising up kids who don’t go away for long. They nor this community seem to think it out of the ordinary … it’s just how it is … always has been.

Jan just took it one step further. She was away a bit longer than most, but so far, Mrs. Bayer is the first and only Boundary County School District 101 Superintendent who can speak to how cold classrooms can be … what it’s like to dress in layers not only to walk to school, but to sit in the classroom. Having grown up in Boundary County, she’s able to do what few school superintendents are able — accurately factor not only the needs of the district’s schools, but how decisions made regarding schools affect the community they are such integral parts of.

“The code is clear that the district could pursue this avenue,” Superintendent Jan Bayer said. “It is not the best option for taxpayers. It is a concern for me, if the decision is made to ask the State to step in. If the bond fails, the district will be examining all options. I cannot speak for the School Board, but our Leadership Team will make a list of recommendations for the board to pursue, if it fails. Right now, I am focusing on communicating information in a transparent manner.”

To one who didn’t grow up here it seems a near miracle to have so many of a community’s children grow up into such fine, dedicated and amazingly qualified adults as Mrs. Jan Bayer, who would be welcomed in almost any school district.

And no matter what field they go into, what knowledge and skills they bring home, they don’t return and work in a vacuum. Instead they are catalysts, imparting their sense of community on those who come here, making them more aware, more effective … better.

It seems incongruous to hear all the same reasons given for and against each time a school M&O or bond elections and hear so little about such valuable gems as Jan … as Janis Tucker, Clint Arthur and many more like them who give so much back to the community that shaped them.

Bricks and mortar are essential components of any school. But we as a community aren’t in the business of investing in sand and gravel when it comes to schools. We’re instead investing in giving opportunities.

That we can go 75 years in a building teetering on the edge of collapse for 30 isn’t a testament to the frugality or conservatism of our electorate … it’s a testament to the resilience and determination of those kids who endure and persevere.

Just imagine if they had facilities that were equal to their effort.