Stand tall and vote 'yes' for Cd'A schools

Only one state in the U.S. does not pay for the construction of public schools.

You’re living in it.

To offset what many residents felt was an oppressive level of property taxes, a special session of the Idaho Legislature in 2006 cut property taxes that previously funded schools and attempted to offset that by increasing the sales tax from 5 to 6 percent.

The net result to many of the state’s 115 school districts is that the burden of building and maintaining their neighborhood schools is decided at the ballot box every two years. Legislators have, for the past half decade, found ways to invest more in public education, but in a state with rapid growth that simply hasn’t been enough.

That’s why the school districts in Kootenai County are asking for your support on March 12. Coeur d’Alene, by far the largest district with nearly 11,000 students, is floating the largest request. We urge patrons of District 271 to vote “yes.”

At stake is roughly a quarter of the district’s general fund budget. The school board is seeking a maintenance and operations levy of $20 million a year for the next two years — money targeted to improve school safety, expand mental health resources for students, improve pay for teachers and staff, and more.

The request is $4 million a year more than the expiring $16 million annual levy. However, taxpayers are not expected to see an overall increase in their school-based property taxes because of market value growth.

Even with added investment in teacher pay and other improvements, the bulk of the money is needed simply to maintain status quo. The $20 million is not a windfall; it’s essential for day-to-day expenses ranging from school resource officers to school buses to upkeep of the district’s 17 schools.

Coeur d’Alene School District features a strong school board and an energetic, experienced superintendent in Dr. Steve Cook. But they face challenges brought on not just by fiscal realities at the state level, but by constant growth that’s leading to unacceptable overcrowding.

They are your schools, they need some help and they deserve your support.

Please join us in voting “yes” for District 271’s levy request on March 12.