Lakeland floating $70.9M school bond

RATHDRUM — Lakeland Joint School District voters will consider a $70.9 million bond measure on Aug. 27 that would fund a new Lakeland High School and improvements to other schools.

A super-majority approval vote (66 2/3 percent) is needed for the bond measure to pass.

Six classrooms and an auxiliary gym would be added to Timberlake Junior High to accommodate the sixth grade, while a new auditorium, improvements to the commons and athletic facility upgrades are planned for Timberlake High.

District officials estimate the cost to fund the projects for the owner of a $300,000 home will be $82 per year, or $6.83 per month.

Brian Wallace, the district's financial director, 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.

"One of the biggest and most expensive challenges facing the district is whether to remodel, replace or abandon Lakeland Junior High," Wallace said.

"The committee concluded that minor upgrades and repair would not be a good use of taxpayer dollars. The cost for renovation and upgrades would be as expensive as building a new school."

The new Lakeland High and athletic facilities would be built on district-owned property adjacent to the Kootenai Technical Campus on Lancaster. Mountain View Alternative High School would also move to a new building on the 38-acre site on Lancaster, said Superintendent Becky Meyer.

Lakeland Junior High, which would become Lakeland Middle School while taking on sixth-graders to alleviate growth pressures at the elementary schools, would move across Highway 41 to the current Lakeland High. The building's upgrades would include a single point of entry to increase security, and renovating the commons.

Moving Lakeland High would reduce traffic congestion at the Highway 41-Highway 53 interchange, Wallace said.

Sixth-graders would also move into Timberlake Junior High to relieve elementary schools in the northern part of the district.

Wallace said that by 2025, the district's enrollment is predicted to reach 5,376. It’s 4,413 now. He said the committee determined that the district's future building costs will increase if the needs are not acted on now.

The planning committee that developed the proposal included 15 community members and eight district staff members. The school board agreed to pass the proposal on to voters. School board members attended committee meetings on a rotating basis.

The committee does not recommend buying more land in the near future. However, with more growth expected, it believes the district should continue to seek land donations or trades.

Early voting will be held Aug. 12-23 on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the county Elections Office, 1808 N. Third St., Coeur d'Alene.

Voting on election day runs from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at individual polls in the Lakeland School District.

Voters who want absentee ballots mailed to them must submit a request by Aug. 16 at 5 p.m. Request forms: https://bit.ly/2SpKn8d

For more information, call the Elections Office at 208-446-1030.