Post Falls trustees seek bond, levy
JUDD WILSON/Press Post Falls School District trustees vote Monday night to put a $9.91 million supplemental levy and a $19 million bond on the March 12 election ballot.
POST FALLS — Trustees for the Post Falls School District sent voters two items for their consideration on the upcoming March 12 ballot.
They unanimously approved a resolution for a $19 million bond that will be used to build a new elementary school and improve five existing schools.
They also unanimously approved a resolution for a two-year supplemental maintenance and operations levy worth $4.955 million per year, for a total of $9.91 million.
The bond requires a two-thirds majority to pass, while the levy requires a simple majority to pass.
Chairman Dave Paul said the requests were the result of the long range facility plan committee’s work. Per the plan, a $12.5 million chunk of the bond funds would pay for a new elementary school in the Foxtail subdivision east of Highway 41. Another $6.5 million would go to improve Frederick Post Kindergarten, Post Falls Middle School, and Mullan Trail, Ponderosa, and Seltice elementary schools.
Bond funds would also be used to purchase land for a future school.
Superintendent Jerry Keane said the amounts requested are “probably not enough money” to deal with the older schools’ needs. However he said, “it’s a major start on it.” It’s more a question of “what can we get done?” than all that should be done, he said. The district is growing at such a rapid clip that remodeling the existing schools will be a challenge, Keane added.
Keane said the board is trying to balance the needs of a growing student population with district patrons’ ability to pay.
“We think this proposal is a good balance.”
He added that the bond and levy, if passed, should result in no additional burden to the average taxpayer above what the district already requires.