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Help Us Report on Idaho’s Deteriorating Public Schools

The Idaho Statesman and ProPublica need your help to get a full picture of school building conditions across the state. We want to understand the effects on students and teachers.

Many chairs stacked in a dark, unfinished space with puddles of water on the bare concrete floor.
Water seeps across the floor in the boiler room at Valley View Elementary School in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. The aging school is part of the Boundary County School District. (Sarah A. Miller/Idaho Statesman)

In Idaho’s aging schools, students often wear jackets in the winter to keep warm in the classroom. In late spring, they sweat, struggling to concentrate. At some schools, bathrooms are regularly closed because of deteriorating pipes. At others, staff spend hours blowing snow off the roof to prevent its collapse.

State officials aren’t fully aware of the extent of the schools’ problems — the last full review of school buildings was done in 1993. It’s hard to repair even the problems that have been logged because in order to get funding for facilities, school districts in Idaho have to clear a higher bar than those in almost any other state.

The Idaho Statesman and ProPublica looked at the conditions inside one school, which has been in disrepair for decades. Now we want to report on school building conditions across the state and how they affect you. Photos and videos of issues in your school are especially helpful and will guide our reporting.

You can fill out our brief form below or send an email to [email protected].

We may not be able to respond to everyone, but we read each submission. All of your contributions help fuel our work.

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Asia Fields

Asia Fields is an engagement reporter with ProPublica.

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