Levy success times two
<p>Coeur d'Alene School District administration members Laura Rumpler, public information officer, left, Matt Handleman, associate superintendent, and Hazel Bauman, superintendent, discuss the ballot tally process Tuesday as the results of the levy vote are counted.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - They both passed.
Voters in the Coeur d'Alene School District gave a double thumbs-up Tuesday to a pair of supplemental levies that will increase property taxes for two years, and bolster the district's general fund by $12.9 million per year.
"A big thank you to our community for once again supporting us in tough times," said Superintendent Hazel Bauman.
Ballot Option 1, a $7.8 million levy to replace an expiring levy, was approved by a vote of 6,882-3,790, reflecting a 64.49 percent margin.
Ballot Option 2, a $5 million levy to cover an additional shortfall created by the loss of one-time stimulus funds and reserves the district has already used, was approved by a vote of 5,873-981, reflecting an 85.69 percent margin.
Successful passage of each option required a simple majority which is more than 50 percent voter approval.
Option 2 could not pass without successful passage of Option 1.
Turnout was 28.4 percent of the district's 37,610 registered voters.
"We see this as a vote of confidence," Bauman said.
Voter-approved supplemental levies are in place in districts throughout Idaho, and are used to fill the gaps between state funding and the cost of running school districts.
The Coeur d'Alene district relies on levies to pay for student activities and athletics, salaries for teacher aides and other support staff, and various programs for academically advanced learners and those who are struggling.
Levy dollars will also help pay to upgrade and maintain the district's technology hardware and infrastructure, and the district's school buildings and grounds.
Despite passage of the levies, school officials are still bracing for an additional reduction in state funding for the next fiscal years.
Idaho schools are still smarting from last year's $128 million paring of the state's general fund appropriation for kindergarten-
through 12th-grade systems.
Lawmakers are now projecting a $62 million shortfall in the public schools budget for the next fiscal year. For the Coeur d'Alene School District, that could mean an additional shortfall of $2 to $3 million for the next school year.
"We've still got our work cut out for us, but this makes it manageable," Bauman said.
The district warned that failure of both ballot options would have prompted layoffs of 115 full-time and 162 part-time support staff members - aides, custodians, secretaries, tech support, library assistants and managers, maintenance and bus drivers.
Voter rejection would have also led to elimination of activities programs, most funding for classroom supplies, equipment, school resource officers and technology support.
Coeur d'Alene voters have favored supplemental levies for more than 20 years.