Everything we've heard so far, organized by topic. Jump to a section below, or scroll through the whole thing.
Future Moscow is a long-range planning initiative focused on expanding educational opportunities, strengthening community partnerships, and ensuring Moscow School District facilities continue to serve students, families, and the community for generations to come.
The initiative explores how district facilities, educational programs, community assets, and strategic investments can support current and future generations of students.
School facilities are long-term investments that often serve students for generations. Future Moscow evaluates how district facilities can best support educational opportunities, student success, operational efficiency, accessibility, safety, and responsible stewardship of community resources.
The goal is to plan proactively rather than reactively, so facilities continue serving students well into the future.
Current planning assumptions, by year:
All timelines remain conceptual and subject to change. See the full month-by-month timeline →
Moscow School District currently serves approximately 2,200 students and has experienced relatively stable enrollment with modest fluctuations over the past decade. Factors affecting enrollment include declining birth rates, charter school enrollment, private school enrollment, homeschooling, and population growth patterns.
Looking ahead, the district is modeling modest growth of approximately 200 additional students over the next decade. A significant driver of this projection is the Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) campus expansion on US-95. SEL has announced that its Moscow manufacturing site will have the capacity to host more than 1,000 jobs — bringing new families and students into our community. Future Moscow is designed to serve those families well, with facilities intended to serve enrollment over the long term.
Future Moscow projects are also intended to make more resources available to home-schooled and private-school families in the district. Expanded career technical education, performing arts, and medical career facilities create opportunities that all Moscow students can access, regardless of where they are enrolled.
Many of the challenges facing the current high school relate to site limitations rather than just building conditions — limited parking, lack of athletic facilities, limited PE space, continued reliance on middle school athletic facilities, constrained site acreage, and limited expansion opportunities. Renovation alone may not fully address these limitations.
A completely new high school campus would require land acquisition, significant infrastructure investment, additional site development, and transportation improvements. Preliminary planning suggests the comprehensive Future Moscow concept may provide a more efficient use of district assets.
Preliminary estimates for a new comprehensive high school building — even if an appropriate site could be identified and acquired — range between $110 million and $120 million. The East Campus conversion delivers a modern, purpose-built high school environment for $55 million by leveraging existing district infrastructure and assets.
The Oylear site is large enough for a middle school campus but not large enough to support all aspects of a comprehensive high school. A high school located solely at Oylear would likely continue relying on facilities located at the current middle school campus.
The current Moscow High School building at 402 E. 5th Street would be repurposed temporarily as the middle school once the high school conversion is complete and high school students move to the East Campus. At 121,700 square feet, it accommodates middle school enrollment.
This is an interim use. If a new middle school is built at Oylear Field under a future Phase 2 measure, the middle school would move there and 402 E. 5th Street would be vacated. No final decisions have been made about the building beyond that point; potential options include sale, transfer to another public entity, or adaptive reuse. More on the middle school transition →
Yes. Preliminary planning anticipates removing approximately 300 student vehicles from surrounding residential streets — with potential benefits including reduced neighborhood parking impacts, increased safety, reduced pressure on downtown parking, and improved traffic circulation.
Future Middle School project page → | Future High School project page →
Future Moscow focuses on expanding educational opportunities by increasing access to Agricultural Education, Construction Technology, Healthcare Pathways, Digital Media, Culinary Arts, and Business Programs — preparing students for college, careers, certifications, apprenticeships, and workforce opportunities.
Agricultural Education would expand into two connected pathways:
Both pathways would include leadership experiences through FFA.
Future Moscow would expand Construction Technology through partnerships and industry-aligned experiences, potentially including OSHA certifications, forklift certifications, traffic control certifications, apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeship opportunities, and construction safety training.
Moscow High School already offers strong business programming. Future Moscow would support continued growth in entrepreneurship, marketing, accounting, leadership, finance, and business management — building on existing program strengths.
Future Moscow envisions CAD instruction, 3D engineering and design, podcasting, audio and video production, graphic design, large format printing, and digital communications — with dedicated production spaces and enhanced technology infrastructure.
Future Moscow evaluates development of professional instructional kitchen facilities, with potential opportunities in culinary arts, hospitality, food science, industry certifications, internships, and Family & Consumer Sciences expansion.
Future Moscow seeks to enhance opportunities for students pursuing four-year college pathways — expanded advanced coursework, increased dual credit opportunities, shared secondary resources, expanded science and laboratory experiences, additional foreign language opportunities, and earlier access to advanced courses. Partnerships with higher education institutions could further expand opportunities.
The Moscow Medical Professional and Career Technical Center (MMPACT) is a proposed regional healthcare and career education center, with potential pathways including CNA, Medical Assistant, EMT, Pharmacy Technician, Dental Technician, and Athletic Training.
The current district office is already conducive to healthcare instruction and would require minimal renovation to begin supporting many healthcare pathways.
No. The vision is for MMPACT to become a regional center serving students throughout Latah County.
Potential partnerships include the University of Idaho, Lewis-Clark State College, Gritman Medical Center, and regional healthcare providers.
Russell School occupies one of Moscow School District's original school sites. A 2025 evaluation determined the building remains generally sound and can continue serving students through targeted renovations, including ADA accessibility upgrades, elevator installation, HVAC upgrades, lead and asbestos remediation, and other safety improvements.
Yes. The Board evaluated reopening Russell as an elementary school but determined the site and building present challenges that limit its effectiveness as a modern elementary school.
The current PCRHS facility was provided free of charge by Dr. Gerry Weitz for nearly 25 years. A lease began in 2024 at approximately $50,000 annually and expires in June 2028.
Russell School would provide twice the classroom space, administrative offices, counseling space, gym access, cafeteria access, and room for expansion.
Because the building is largely vacant, renovations could begin shortly after project approval and be completed prior to August 2028.
Future Russell project page → | Future Paradise Creek Regional High School project page →
Yes. Construction staging and sequencing are intended to ensure educational programs and activities continue uninterrupted.
Potential improvements include a regulation-size practice and physical education field, expanded practice space, improved scheduling flexibility, enhanced PE opportunities, and increased on-campus activities.
Future Moscow evaluates a Performing Arts Center with 900 seats, supporting drama, band, choir, orchestra, community events, and educational presentations.
It has not increased. The dollar amount Moscow School District collects through its supplemental levy has remained exactly the same each year since 2018 — unchanged despite inflation in the cost of goods, services, wages, and construction over that period.
Over the same stretch, the total school property tax rate has fallen by more than half. In 2016 the combined rate was $750 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value. In 2026 it is $352.
The rate declined because the district’s total taxable value grew — from $1.36 billion in 2016 to $3.34 billion in 2026 — not because the district collects more. A fixed dollar amount spread across a larger tax base produces a lower rate on each individual property.
The proposed Plant Facility Levy is a separate, dedicated capital construction levy. It does not replace or change the supplemental levy. See the historical rate chart →
Projects under proposal — funded by the November 2026 measure:
Total: approximately $64 Million. Funded by $12 million in district savings plus the proposed Plant Facility Levy. See the full cost breakdown →
Future projects — not funded by this measure:
Neither is funded by the November 2026 measure. Each would require its own separate voter approval in a future election.
The projects are interconnected: elementary development supports recreation planning, recreation planning supports middle school development, middle school construction enables high school conversion, Russell School enables administrative relocation, and administrative relocation enables MMPACT. A coordinated approach minimizes disruption and maximizes efficiency.
A Plant Facilities Levy is an Idaho voter-approved funding mechanism used for school facility construction, renovation, and improvement projects.
Lease-purchase financing allows a district to access project funding immediately while making payments over time. Current planning assumptions include $70 million financed at approximately 3.52% interest over a 10-year repayment period.
Lease-purchase financing provides the up-front construction funding. The Plant Facilities Levy provides the annual revenue source used to make lease-purchase payments over the repayment period.
The Idaho School Facilities Fund provides annual state funding to school districts for facility needs. For FY2026, Moscow School District's SFF allocation is $1.91 million total, with $650,750 offsetting the existing bond levy, leaving $1,190,104 in remaining funds available for facility needs.
As of January 2026: outstanding principal is $4,215,000, with a final payment date of August 15, 2033. The current bond levy rate is $0.
Future Moscow projects would be subject to Board oversight, public meetings, independent annual audits, budget reporting, contract review processes, and procurement requirements — with public project updates throughout.
Idaho Code § 34-914 requires the gross levy amount on the ballot — the full cost before any offsets. That is the legally binding number voters are approving.
However, Moscow School District also receives annual funding from Idaho's School Facilities Fund (SFF), a state program that is applied against the levy by law. For FY2026, the district received $1.91 million in SFF funding. After the existing bond is covered first, approximately $1,190,104 of that is available to offset the new Plant Facility Levy — reducing the effective cost to taxpayers without changing what's on the ballot.
See the full breakdown of ballot figure vs. estimated net cost →
The Idaho School Facilities Fund (SFF) is a state program established in 2023 that sends annual funding to school districts to help offset local property tax levies for facility needs. It is state money — not a local tax — appropriated each year by the Idaho Legislature.
For FY2026, Moscow School District received $1.91 million. State law specifies the order in which these dollars are applied: first to bonds, then to plant facility levies, then to other uses. The SFF is not guaranteed beyond each annual legislative appropriation cycle, but it has been funded consistently since the program launched.
The district's existing bond retires in 2033. Until then, a portion of the School Facilities Fund ($650,750/year) must be applied to that bond before anything reaches the new Plant Facility Levy.
Once the bond is paid off in 2033, the full SFF allocation — approximately $1.91 million/year — becomes available to offset the new levy instead. At the current taxable value, that shift is estimated to reduce the effective rate by an additional ~$19 per $100,000 of taxable value, or roughly $62/year for a median-value Moscow home. The levy then pays off completely by December 2033.
Once the Phase 1 Plant Facility Levy is fully retired (December 2033), the School Facilities Fund is no longer committed to debt service. That ~$1.91 million/year in state money becomes available for other district facility needs — maintenance, repairs, future improvements — without restriction.
Under a 30-year general obligation bond, that same money would remain committed to debt service until approximately 2056 — 20 additional years during which those state dollars cannot be used for other facility needs.
A 30-year bond doesn't just cost more in interest — it also consumes the district's School Facilities Fund for 30 years. A 10-year Plant Facility Levy frees that state funding 20 years sooner.
Based on current SFF distribution levels, those freed years represent significant ongoing state facility funding that would instead go toward bond interest under a bond scenario. Under the levy approach, that money becomes available starting in 2036 for whatever facility needs the community identifies next — rather than being locked into a debt obligation through 2056.
The district anticipates providing project updates, construction timelines, budget information, design updates, and board presentations through the Future Moscow website and other communication channels throughout the life of the plan.
An interactive project map shows all eight Future Moscow sites across Moscow, Idaho. Click any pin to see a description of that project and a link to its dedicated project page.
Don’t see your question answered here? Submit it below. Questions that come up repeatedly are added to the FAQ so everyone can see the answer.
Form not loading? Open it in a new tab, or contact Superintendent Shawn Tiegs directly at stiegs@msd281.org or 208-892-1139.
These projects are in the district’s long-range facilities plan but are not funded by the November 2026 measure. Each would require its own separate voter approval in a future election.
The current middle school site contains sufficient space to support the amenities associated with a comprehensive high school campus, which is why it is proposed for conversion. The Oylear Field site is well suited for a middle school but would not independently support all the components a modern comprehensive high school requires.
Additional benefits of a purpose-built middle school include shared advanced coursework opportunities, improved collaboration, expanded career technical opportunities, and resource sharing between middle and high school programs.
Since the closure of Russell Elementary, students have been redistributed among the district’s remaining elementary schools. West Park Elementary in particular faces capacity limitations, portable classrooms, no room to expand, parking constraints, and leased parking.
A new elementary school would provide long-term capacity and modern learning environments on Moscow’s growing south side.
The site provides long-term elementary capacity, modern educational spaces, improved circulation, and flexibility for future enrollment needs. It also aligns with broader community planning efforts involving recreation and athletic facilities, and sits near city-developed fields and the arboretum.
West Park Elementary sits on property subject to a reversionary agreement requiring the property to return to the City of Moscow if it ceases to be used as a school.
Current planning envisions continued operation until a replacement school opens, followed by a transition of the property back to the City once occupancy concludes.
No date can be given. Both would require a future voter-approved Plant Facility Levy, and no such election has been called or scheduled. Design work is substantially complete for both projects and the Oylear Field site is district-owned and reserved, but funding has not been identified.
The following information is required by Section 34-914, Idaho Code:
The estimated average annual cost to the taxpayer on the proposed levy is a tax of $280 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, per year, based on current conditions.
The proposed levy would be assessed for 7 years.