Idaho Matters

A look into Idaho's crumbling schools

In Bonners Ferry, Idaho, nearly 400 students are being taught in a building that is falling apart. There are cracks in the walls, water stains on the ceilings and a collapsing plumbing system. Without air conditioning or proper heating classrooms are boiling in the summers and freezing in the winters. Not to mention the roof is failing. But despite all of this Valley View Elementary School has been unable to get a bond approved that would make any significant changes.

Broadcast on:: 31 Aug 2023

Water seeps across the floor in the boiler room at Valley View Elementary School in rural Bonner's Ferry, Idaho, Jan. 22, 2023. The Boundary County School District has attempted to pass a bond that would replace the aging, deteriorating school; however, the bond has never passed with the supermajority vote required by state law.(Sarah A. Miller/smiller@idahostatesman.com / Idaho Statesman)

In Bonners Ferry, nearly 400 students are being taught in a building that is falling apart.

There are cracks in the walls, water stains on the ceilings and a collapsing plumbing system. Without air conditioning or proper heating, classrooms are boiling in the summers and freezing in the winters. Not to mention the roof is failing.

But despite all of this Valley View Elementary School has been unable to get a bond approved that would make any significant changes. They're not the only school in Idaho that's dealing with this issue.

Other districts across the state are suffering from deteriorating schools without the funding to fix them.

Which is why ProPublica and the Idaho Statesman have embarked on a joint investigation, looking into the condition of Idaho schools and how those conditions are impacting students and teachers.

Idaho Statesman reporter Becca Savransky and ProPublica Reporter Asia Fields joined Idaho Mattes to talk more about this new effort.