KUNA, Idaho — The owners of Enrique's Mexican Restaurant in Kuna are behind the signs displayed around town in support of the Kuna School District supplemental levy. The owners say their family was impacted by the last round of school cuts — which limited student access to laptops outside of school.
- The $3.6 million levy will be on the ballot in November, if passed it would cost taxpayers $65.48 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, per year —to fund teachers, technology and textbooks.
- You can learn more about the Kuna School District supplemental levy here.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
"When something makes me angry, I have to do something about it. So I don't sit there and just wait for solutions. I get up and get stuff done," says Ana Paz, the owner of Enrique's Mexican Restaurant in Kuna.
She tells me her daughter, who attends Kuna Middle School, was impacted by the last round of school budget cuts which kept kids from taking home laptops — something she says her daughter needs to be successful in school.
"I thought the easy way out is to go out and buy a new computer. But I thought this, this is deeper than just my daughter… I go, what about the people that can't afford it," says Paz.
So she decided to spread the word by partnering with another local business to make signs in support of the levy.
"I just went wild... We just started putting them up all over the city," says Paz.
"As a school district, we can't advocate yes or no for our ballot measure and so Ana has really kind of taken the reins on that to get the word out and get people to get out there and vote and put those signs up around the community that everybody is seeing," says Jason Reddy, an Assistant Superintendent for the Kuna School District.
Beyond spreading the word with signs, Ana also organized a luncheon with local business owners to help connect them with the school district.
"I felt like there was no connection between the business owners and the school district, so I just thought well let's start now and build that as time goes on," says Paz.
"I think at the end of the day having a strong school district and a strong commerce makes for a good community," says Reddy.
If passed, the $3.6 million levy will cost taxpayers $65.48 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, per year — to fund teachers, technology and textbooks.
"If we don't invest in our young kiddos right now, they're going to be our future and they're the ones that are going to be taking care of us. So we have to make sure that they are ready for what's ahead and we can't just let them fall behind," added Paz.
