COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — The Coeur d'Alene School District will ask voters to approve not one, but two levies in March, as reported by our news partners, the Coeur d'Alene Press.
During a special meeting Friday morning, members of the Coeur d'Alene School District board of trustees unanimously voted to pursue another attempt at a school plant facilities levy election in the spring, as well as seek voter approval to replace the maintenance and operations levy that will expire at the end of the school year.
The March 2023 school plant facilities levy election request is for less money for a shorter period of time than the $8 million-per-year, 10-year request that failed at the polls in August. The request will be for $5 million per year for five years.
"The community wants us to address these safety and security measures and maintenance issues, and that's evidenced by our majority vote just two months ago," Superintendent Shon Hocker said. "However, unfortunately, as you all know, we did not achieve the 55% support that is required."
Funds from the levy that will be on the ballot in March will pay for the care and repair of facilities and security issues across the district. Currently, Coeur d'Alene's backlog of deferred maintenance projects is $25 million. If nothing is done, this amount is projected to exceed $100 million in 10 years. Items in need of attention include heating and air conditioning systems, walkways and parking lots in disrepair, cameras, alarms and other critical safety and maintenance needs.
"We need to come up with a plan," Hocker said. "We believe reducing this ask from $8 million to $5 million and reducing the length of term of this SPFL from 10 years to five years has a good likelihood to gain us that additional 5% support we need so we can get over that 55% threshold to pass this SPFL."
The school board had more extensive conversation regarding Hocker's recommendation to seek an increase of $5 million per year in the district's two-year levy, for a total of $25 million per year to replace the current $20 million-per-year levy. The increase would offset higher costs caused by inflation and would help the district be competitive as it works to recruit and retain teachers and classified staff.
"Between March of '19 and July of '22, we've lost $3.3 million in buying power from those funds. That's nearly $1 million lost each year, and my prediction is by March of '23, it will be a full $4 million in buying power that we will be down," Hocker said. "We aren't able to even purchase what $20 million bought us back in 2019."
He said the district cannot continue to try to hire classified employees at $12.75 an hour, or support freezing the salaries of those who have worked in the district between seven and 12 years. He said the district also can't continue five-year salary freezes for newly hired teachers before they even receive their first raises.
"We've got to remain competitive with our surrounding districts," Hocker said. "A few years ago, we paid slightly more than most of our surrounding districts. Today, we don't."
He said he believes this levy will pass.
"It is integral in everything we do," Hocker said. "Our community does not want a school district that is absent of elective course offerings, athletics, extracurricular opportunities," Kootenai Technical Education Campus opportunities, school resource officers, campus security officers "and the list goes on and on."
The board unanimously voted to increase the replacement levy request to $25 million per year.
Trustees were split, however, on whether the two-year supplemental levy, which has passed with voter approval since its inception in 1986, should be held in perpetuity.
"We've never asked for that. We've never done that. We continue to come back to our community every two years," Hocker said.
With a perpetual levy, the district would no longer have to ask voters for funding every two years as a locked amount would be levied each year. While it is unknown when that amount would need to be voted upon to be increased to keep up with district needs in the future, it would give voters a reprieve from the sense that the district is "always asking for money," as noted in the conversation among the trustees.
"An organization as large as ours just simply cannot effectively function with a potential looming budget cut of nearly 25% hanging over our operations every two years," Hocker said. "We have staff that are exiting our district between levies because of this unknown."
Trustees Lesli Bjerke and Allie Anderton voted against a perpetual levy, citing concerns about support from the community.
"Perpetuity, I'm not comfortable at all asking," Bjerke said. "I've heard from many people in my zone that appreciate having a voice and a choice, and if we put this in perpetuity, they no longer have a choice."
She said people have told her they love public schools, but they can't afford for their taxes to go up.
"We have to be really mindful everybody is having to make tough choices right now," she said, adding that it's important the district understand people are struggling.
"We need to be mindful of everybody's struggle and having to do more with less money," Bjerke said.
Chair Rebecca Smith, Vice Chair Casey Morrisroe and Trustee Heather Tenbrink all voted in support of the perpetual levy.
Morrisroe said his role on the board is to advocate for the students and their needs.
"Certainly, taxpayers are part of our responsibility and our consideration, but for me the No. 1 is the student, I think for all of us, I know it is," he said. "It's our job, my job, to advocate for what we need, and that may not be what the community supports, but it's still needed."
Smith said this is a pivotal moment in the community.
"What do we want our schools to look like?" she said, adding that she can't imagine in two years coming back again trying to convince people to support sports and other programming in the district.
"Those needs aren't going to change in two years," Smith said. "I am in favor of asking in perpetuity. I think it puts students first, and that's what we're called to do."
Resolutions, ballot language and other details will be discussed at the Nov. 7 regular meeting of the board.
The Coeur d'Alene Press is a KREM 2 news partner. For more from our partners, click here.
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