SCHOOLS: Facts about finances

Regarding the article “Post Falls stretching school dollars,” it was nice to read how the school district is spending our money and some of the line items in the budget. It was also a bit of a history lesson.

Why doesn’t the school district respond to EVERY development application presented to it by the city?

I have been to numerous City Council and Planning Commission meetings where the ‘agencies notified’ are listed on a slide with the responses. Most often the school district has NOT sent in any comment yet population growth is driving the need for more schools. It isn’t our birth rate!

Watch the school bus pull up at the massive new apartment communities and half the bus seems to empty out there.

There is no request for the reader to contact their legislature to ask for the state to allow new construction to be assessed an Impact fee for new school construction. Why shouldn’t every new dwelling unit contribute to new school costs up front with a one time fee, then the property tax?

The mention of classified employee wages was given a short note but clearly the district cannot believe that $12.48 per hour is adequate even though it was the recent increase from $10.68. I hope the budget is going to factor in the average wage that seems to be currently prevalent here, $14 to $16 an hour starting. If not, expect a shortfall in filled job openings for classified employees.

HOWARD BURNS

Post Falls