Lakeland school bond vote today

RATHDRUM — Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today for the Lakeland Joint School District as voters decide on the district's proposed $70.9 million bond issue.

The bonds would finance a new complex for Lakeland and Mountain View high schools on district-owned property next to the Kootenai Technical Education Campus on Lancaster Road, along with improvements to other schools.

Passage requires a super-majority: Two-thirds of votes — or 66.6% — must be cast in favor for the bonds to be issued.

The cost of the bond depends on how it's viewed and has sparked the need for clarification from the district and current and former state legislators due to voter questions.

The ballot states that the annual cost to the taxpayer will be $147 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value per year. The district states the annual impact will be $41 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value.

The $147 annual cost on the ballot is based on rules directed by a bill passed by the Legislature in 2018. It is a calculation using the amount of the bond, the duration of the bond and the current taxable value of property in the district. It is not thought to be a true estimate by some financial planners because it does not take into account all factors that affect the overall tax rate.

It does not allow for estimated future growth, which increases the tax base and reduces the bond repayment cost for each property owner. The taxpayers' overall annual cost for the district taxes may be reduced if some of the other existing tax levies drop off.

District officials said the new law required school districts to calculate the impact of the bond as of "today."

The limitation with this, they say, is that the law does not allow the district to take into account future factors such as new construction and debt that impacts its tax rate. The district has bonds that will be paid off in 2023 and 2025.

The new bonds will be structured to have lower payments at the start and then increase when the old bonds retire, district officials said. That will allow the district to flatten the impact of the new bonds over time.

Ronald Nate, the former state representative who wrote the ballot disclosure law, said taxpayers have the right to know what a proposal will cost them on average per year under current conditions, which means the details can't be stated in a way to build support for an election. Hence, the $147 per $100,000 of taxable assessed values based on current conditions is on the ballot.

If approved, funding from the bond would pay for:

- new schools for Lakeland and Mountain View high schools and athletic facilities next to KTEC;

- building system upgrades, a renovation of the commons and the creation of single-point entry of the existing Lakeland High that would be occupied by Lakeland Middle School;

- improvements to the existing Lakeland Junior High building to improve bus parking and to accommodate support services;

- six classrooms and a new auxiliary gym at Timberlake Junior High;

- improvements to the commons and athletic facility upgrades at Timberlake High.

The projected opening for the new Lakeland High and Mountain View schools would be fall 2020. Lakeland Junior High would become Lakeland Middle School if the measure passes as it would take on sixth-graders to alleviate growth pressures at the elementary schools.

District officials said drivers for the bond proposal determined by the Long-Range Facility Planning Committee include Lakeland Junior High's poor condition, population and student growth and increased traffic on Highway 41 that has drawn pedestrian safety concerns.

The committee concluded that minor upgrades and repair of Lakeland Junior High would not be a good use of taxpayer dollars. It also determined that future building costs would be higher if the district waits.

The district predicts its student population will reach 5,376 by 2025. It's 4,413 now.

The last bond that Lakeland voters approved was in 2005. The measure paid for construction of Twin Lakes Elementary.

Early voting for the proposal ended on Friday. For more information, visit https://www.kcgov.us/31/Elections or call 208-446-1030.