Work to do

COEUR d'ALENE - The trustees for Coeur d'Alene School District 271 could say this much after their Monday night meeting: The work needs to be done.

But the officials were cautious to reveal whether they were leaning for or against pursuing a $32.7 million bond levy for school facilities improvements, as recommended that night by the district's Long Range Planning Committee.

"(The committee members) have done their job, and I think we need to be able to take a look," said Trustee Terri Seymour after the meeting. "I think they've put a lot of work in, and given us something to consider."

LRPC Chair Sharalee Howard gave the presentation to the four trustees on Monday evening that advised putting a $32,689,160.52 bond levy on the ballot in August.

Recommending a bond length of 12 years, the committee sees the amount as necessary for several decrepit schools to meet current health and safety standards, Howard stated.

"This committee believes that it is a reasonable opportunity to ask voters to support a bond that focuses on the health and safety needs of school district facilities," Howard read from a statement prepared by the committee.

Major improvements on the LRPC's list are targeted for the older Borah, Bryan, Sorensen, Winton and Canfield schools. The makeovers would include heating and air conditioning maintenance and upgrades, four classroom additions for Sorensen and gym additions for the other four.

Canfield would benefit from a professional technical education expansion.

Seymour said she wasn't surprised by the total figure.

"We've been talking about it. We knew they were going to be addressing it," she said.

She agreed that something has to be done to address the needs of the schools, but couldn't predict if the public would support such a measure.

"If we're going to do this, I would hope we would all unite," Seymour said.

Trustee Tom Hamilton, who had sat in on the discussions of the 28-member LRPC, said the committee prefers a bond measure because the funds would be available all at once, allowing several construction projects to start together.

He emphasized that he still has to form his own opinion on that advantage.

But the students can't continue with the materials they've been working with for so long, Hamilton noted.

"The specific improvements are largely related to health and safety," said Hamilton, also speaking after the meeting. "It's what the district should've been investing in all along."

Trustee Sid Fredrickson said anyone who walks the halls of Bryan Elementary will understand the $32 million request.

"The need is there," he said.

The trustees would have taken care of these issues already, Fredrickson added, if the district had the budget.

"We had to cut $8 million out of our general budget in the last three years," he said. "It's not like we wouldn't love to take care of business."

He pointed out that a bond measure would have immediate benefits, but payments through a School Plant Facilities Levy wouldn't accumulate interest.

On the other hand, SPFL payments are dolled out in increments over a long period.

"You're out there 15 years," Fredrickson said. "In the meantime, what happens with the continuing degradation (of district facilities)?"

The board will have to weigh which is more reasonable, he said.

During the meeting, Fredrickson encouraged the public to contact the officials and help guide them on the matter.

The trustees will decide what to pursue at their April meeting.

The district has gone through 10 years without a revenue stream to maintain school buildings and infrastructure, according to the district.

The last two proposed facilities levies in 2008 and 2006 failed to get voter approval.

Hamilton couldn't predict if taxpayers would support the proposal.

"It's hard to say," he said. "We have a community that has been very supportive of education. But there have been some levies that have recently gone down for the same thing."