COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — A levy for the Coeur d'Alene School District to give local schools $40 million in property taxes over the next two years is leading late Tuesday night.
With roughly two-thirds of precincts reporting, Kootenai County results showed voters supporting the measure with 59.76 percent of the vote.
The levy funds district operations and maintenance, to the amount of $145.54 per $100,000 of assessed taxable value, per year. Although the amount brought in is the same as the existing levy, the tax rate people will pay will decrease thanks to an influx of people moving into the district and rising property values.
Supporters of the levy said the COVID-19 pandemic has made it all the more important, providing services students desperately need such as counseling and school nurses. Traci Hanks, who co-chairs the pro-levy committee Citizens for Coeur d'Alene Public Schools, said ahead of Election Day that the levy accounts for 25% of the district's operating budget.
Opponents of the levy said the pandemic is actually all the more reason to reject it. Some conservatives, including North Idaho and activist Jeremy Morris, feel that the district is not spending the money wisely and some are upset with how it handled reopening. Some felt that rejecting the levy would fore the district to listen to their concerns.
If the current results hold, it would be a comfortable victory for the district. However it would also amount to a drop in support compared to 2019, when the levy received 69.62 percent of the vote.
