Days Before A Crucial Funding Vote West Ada Removes Money Video

A letter by two of Idaho's most influential Republican legislators has resulted in a campaign video produced by the West Ada School System to be taken down at the request of Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts. The removal comes within days of a controversial levy request by the state's largest school district for a whopping $500 million levy.

Voters will decide if they will agree to tax increases to fund a growing school system that has produced some of the highest academic results in Idaho. Idaho's Speaker of The House Representative Mike Moyle and Representative Jason Monks, House Revenue and Taxation
Committee Chairman wrote a letter of concern involving a video produced by the school district to promote passing the levy.

The letter to the Ada County Prosecutor was a possible violation of the state's Public Integrity in Elections Act. The bill prohibits public entities from using tax dollars to encourage folks to vote for an issue, campaign, or candidate.

The video was taken down after the prosecutor reviewed the matter, according to a release from Speaker Moyle, who added, "I appreciate the work done by Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts in investigating this matter and bringing the West Ada School District back into compliance with the law. I hope the district will spend its taxpayer money more wisely and legally in the future."

Representative Monks shared his thoughts on the video. "Unfortunately, the West Ada School District, in creating a polished, professional
campaign video for their upcoming proposal to voters to increase the school district property tax levy for plant facilities, has gone well beyond "neutral, factual" information.

Spending taxpayer dollars for a campaign video to convince taxpayers to give the district more money has always been inappropriate, and for the last five years, it has also been illegal. It is essential that people have confidence that the taxes they pay will be used for the services government is obligated to provide, not slick campaign ads that lobby the public for even more taxes."

The district will need a vote of over 55% to get the funding of $50 million every year for ten years. The impact on taxpayers cannot be diminished. If approved, residents will pay about $90 per $100,000 of value in their homes.