Focus on Education

Supplemental levy for Lake Pend Oreille School District set to go to vote on March8

At the December 14 school board meeting the Lake Pend Oreille School District Board of Trustees approved a resolution calling for a replacement Supplemental/Instructional Levy. The total amount to be levied over two years was set at $13,646,624.  The levy will be placed before voters on March 8, 2011. 

The Board of Trustees held seven public work sessions regarding the levy, in addition to two public meetings designed to seek public feedback regarding the proposal. Potential proposals ranged from $12,878,000 to $16,597,393. The figure chosen recognizes the economic challenges facing residents and seeks to maintain programs that were in place two years prior with the successful passage of the 2009 levy. The majority of the levy dollars are used to support approximately one-third of district staffing and all extracurricular activities.

Should this levy pass there will still be staffing reductions district wide. Federal stimulus dollars that were available for two years will no longer be available. The loss of the federal funds, coupled with unprecedented state reductions in public education funding the past two years, renders those cuts unavoidable. This levy proposal takes into account the possibility of a third year of reduced state funding and a potential mid-year state holdback of up to $1.1 million dollars. The district’s reserve fund and careful planning will help to weather this possibility should this occur.

This will be the first school-related levy run by the county. With the change in statute at the state level last year, all school related issues will be facilitated by the County Clerk. As such, polling places will change. In the past, residents could vote at any election site for school related elections. For this levy and all future school elections, residents of the school district must vote at their identified precinct. In addition, mail in absentee ballot requests must be received by the County Clerk by March 2, 2011.

Information and implications of the passage of the levy will be shared around the community. The district website will be updated regularly with levy related information. If you have any questions regarding the proposed levy please feel free to call me at 263-2184 or email me at [email protected]