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BSU to benefit from $94 million school bond
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Nearly 20,000 local voters approved a $94 million bond for the Boise School District on Tuesday. While the bond mainly benefits the local high schools, junior highs and elementary schools, Boise State University will acquire land to build a new athletic facility near the university.
BSU will exchange land with East Junior High School, which is currently at 415 Warm Springs, right off of Broadway Avenue.
“We will need to purchase 20 acres of land out at the Barber Valley,” Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier said. “And then we will exchange that acreage for East Junior High.”
The location will eventually house a new track and multi-purpose sports complex.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to serve the needs of our emerging Bronco football program, as well as Boise State’s intercollegiate and intramural programs, including our track program and women’s soccer,” said BSU President Bob Kustra.
Kustra announced the partnership with the Boise School District in January, but the bond is the first major step in the process, said University Communications Director Frank Zang.
Zang said that the State Board of Education and the Boise School District must agree on the details of the partnership, but the bond passage allows such discussions and planning to begin.
“This exchange was predicated on the passage of the bond,”
Zang said.
Zang said it will likely take at least two years for East Junior High to be relocated and for the new athletic facility construction to begin. Though the timeline and other details have yet to be determined, Zang said the March 14 bond passage is “certainly a milestone” in the process.
The bond allows for the land exchange, but will not fund the new facility, Zang said. BSU will likely pay for the athletic complex mainly through private donations, he said.
Zang added that funding the new athletic complex will have to fit within the university’s master plan, which outlines campus growth through 2015 and beyond.
Tessa Schweigert
Assistant News Editor