HomeMy WebLinkAboutVallivue SD_Comments - 8_21_24Lisa Boyd,Superintendent
5207 S.Montana AvenueCaldwell,ID 83607Phone(208)454-0445Fax(208)454-0293
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August 21,2024
Re:SUB24-000022 –Prelim Plat for Regency;SUB24-000023 –Prelim Plat for Verbena
Ranch Meadows;SUB24-000024 –Prelim Plat for Heights;SUB24-000025 –Prelim Plat
for The Reserve;SUB24-000026 -Prelim Plat for Trails;SUB24-000027 –Prelim Plat for
Verbena Ranch Place
Dear Caldwell Planning and Zoning,
Vallivue School District’s relationship with Toll Brothers has spanned a few years.
When construction erupted and our enrollment skyrocketed,Toll Brothers was the
first development group that reached out to us.We met with their representatives in
December of 2021.At that time,they shared that they realized the impact
construction has on local schools and they would like to be good partners with
mitigating the impact of this growth.At that meeting,they offered to give Vallivue
20 acres of land for a future elementary school.We were grateful for the potential
partnership and often used their generosity as an example of how districts and
developers could work together.
Soon after,development of the project went on hiatus for a few years until they
reached out to meet again in February 2024.At that point,they shared that donating
20 acres is no longer of interest to them,however,they would still like to partner
with the district on projects that would support the students the houses in this
development would bring to Vallivue.We asked for clarity on the scope of projects
they would like to support,but did not receive specific guidance.In response,we
provided Toll Brothers with a list of capital projects we have been unable to complete
at Vallivue Middle School and Vallivue High School.When presented with this list,Toll
Bros responded that the projects were too expensive or not quite right.Nevertheless,
they reiterated their desire to support the district with a project.Again,we asked for
clarity and did not receive guidance.We met again in July 2024 to meet the new
project manager and team.We shared our confusion about what type of partnership
they were seeking after reviewing our history of dead-ends and confusion.Toll Bros
again assured us that they do want to partner with the district on a project to support
the district and to provide them a list of potential projects.They also shared that we
would hear back from them by the end of the following week.We shared a new list of
projects with smaller price points.
On August 6th,2024 when we had not heard back from Toll Brothers regarding our
second round of proposed projects,we reached out again to clarify their intentions to
partner with us.In a meeting on August 8,2024,they shared that they were not
Lisa Boyd,Superintendent
5207 S.Montana AvenueCaldwell,ID 83607Phone(208)454-0445Fax(208)454-0293
interested in any of the projects we had shared with them.They did however have
another project in mind.
Toll Bros shared that they are required to fully build Moss Lane from 10th Ave.going
east toward Montana Ave.When completed,this road will run parallel to Vallivue
Middle School’s bus driveway.If they build Moss Lane as required,fully on their land,
it will take away some of the land they were hoping to use for homes,thus reducing
profits.Toll Brothers proposed that Vallivue give up District land,the VMS driveway,
and allow them to use it as the eastbound lane for Moss Lane.This proposal was
shared with our School Board who rejected the thought of giving away our bus and
maintenance access drive.This driveway has been in place since the early 70s and
was remodeled in the past two years.Giving Toll Brothers this property to create a
road would not be safe for our students.The proposal for Vallivue to give up land to
Toll Brothers does not positively benefit Vallivue.
While school districts around us have been losing enrollment and closing schools,
Vallivue School District has enrolled over 1,400 new students this fall.Between the
City of Nampa and the City of Caldwell,over 11,000 new dwellings have been
approved to be built within our district boundaries.While we are rapidly building two
new elementary schools,this will not be enough to house all of these new students as
they move through our system for the foreseeable future.
Over the past year,Vallivue has ceased asking developers for donations of $500 or
$1000 per door.Meeting with developers to explain our plight and to help them to
understand and/or care about the impact they have on the school district is not an
effective use of time.These meetings are quite often mildly contentious and
developers rarely agree to any donations.For those that do,these agreements are
difficult to track and impossible to enforce.
Although we’ve shared with Toll Bros that we are no longer seeking developer
donations per door,they convinced us that a meeting would benefit the district to
explore how they could support us.We have talked with,met with and exchanged
emails with them multiple times over the years.Toll Bros has yet to show any real
interest in supporting Vallivue despite their words stating otherwise.
Toll Bros is not required to give or show any support to a school district,however,we
wanted to make sure that the City of Caldwell knew about the history of our efforts
to partner with Toll Bros at their request.
As development continues,we would like to voice our shared concern with the
Caldwell School District regarding the corner of Tenth and Homedale.Traffic at that
intersection has a history of car wrecks where more students will frequently walk to
school in the future.A traffic light for increased safety would be appreciated by both
districts.
Lisa Boyd,Superintendent
5207 S.Montana AvenueCaldwell,ID 83607Phone(208)454-0445Fax(208)454-0293
Sincerely,
Lisa Boyd,
Superintendent
Joseph Palmer
Assistant Superintendent