Vote 'yes' for Lakeland levy

Let’s pretend that your household income is $65,000, which is right at the state’s median.

Now, imagine The Boss calls you into the office and informs you that, effective immediately, your income is being reduced by 27 percent. Instead of $65,000, your household budget is suddenly $47,450.

What will you do? You’re going to cut, that’s what you’ll do. And in all likelihood, by taking $17,550 right off the table, you’re going to make some dramatic changes to the way you’ve been living — which wasn’t extravagant by any means.

We apologize for the fairly dramatic example, but that’s a fair illustration of what will happen if voters in the Lakeland Joint School District turn down the request for a two-year replacement levy at $8.99 million per year. That dollar amount represents 27 percent of the district’s general fund budget.

We’re confident Lakeland citizens understand and appreciate the excellent school system they enjoy. The Press encourages strong voter turnout March 12 with an overwhelming “yes” vote on the district’s funding request.

With 11 neighborhood schools welcoming 4,485 students and 723 employees, Lakeland has a lot to be proud of. The district routinely outperforms state averages for graduation and SAT scores. The students tend to be high-achievers, too: Lakeland has a higher percentage of its students dual-enrolled at North Idaho College than any other district.

Because we’re talking about voters’ hard-earned tax dollars, though, nothing should be taken for granted. For you bottom-liners, levy passage — needing a simple majority for approval — is not projected to raise property taxes. In fact, in many cases a slight decrease might show up.

That 27 percent will help pay for numerous maintenance and operations expenses, including all-day kindergarten, technology, all academic and athletic extracurricular activities, classroom materials, safety improvements, Advanced Learning Program opportunities and expansion of the vocational program. It will also significantly beef up school security.

Lakeland officials want to address your tough questions. Tonight and tomorrow night, District 272 patrons are invited to town hall meetings. Tonight’s is at Lakeland High and Thursday night’s is at Timberlake Junior High. Both start at 6.

In true Lakeland style, officials say they will compile and share with the public detailed accountability reports showing how and where the money is spent.

On March 12, please do your best to keep Lakeland School District’s budget whole.