Cd'A and PF school boards to meet tonight
School boards in Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls will meet this evening to reorganize and discuss topics they'll tackle this year.
The upcoming $25 million-per-year perpetual supplemental levy and the $5 million-per-year, five-year school safety and maintenance levy will be among top conversation topics when trustees of the Coeur d'Alene School Board meet at 5 p.m. in the Midtown Center Meeting Room, 1505 N. Fifth St., Coeur d'Alene.
Board officers will be elected. Also during the meeting, Coeur d'Alene school board members will consider when to host "Let's Talk Levy with the Trustees" open houses to provide educational events for the public to attend. The open houses may take place later in January and February.
The board is also expected to consider creating a resolution that would allow for future levy rate reductions if the state of Idaho increases future school funding in areas currently supplemented by levy funds.
"If our community passes the $25 million-per-year levy in perpetuity, and suddenly we are seeing an influx in new education funding coming in from the state — a new revenue stream we didn't previously have — the idea is, at that time, the board would discuss that and consider reducing the amount of money that we levy," Coeur d'Alene School District communications director Scott Maben said Friday.
"If the levy is approved, we still have authority to levy up to $25 million, but the board can always choose to levy less," he explained. "This formalizes that discussion."
Coeur d'Alene will also have a discussion about making changes to the 2023-24 school calendar, with a focus on winter break. Winter break in the 2022-23 school year did not begin until Dec. 23, later than years past.
"More than I can ever remember, people were reaching out to us and letting us know they did not like how winter break was scheduled this year and they want us to reschedule that," Maben said. "We’re very open to making a change."
He said Coeur d'Alene will soon be surveying its families for input regarding potential schedule changes. Survey results will be reviewed by a committee that will provide a recommendation to trustees.
"We are very motivated to bring that back to our board soon," Maben said.
The Post Falls School Board will meet at 6 p.m. in River City Middle School, 1505 N. Fir St.
The board will disband and trustees will elect officers, sign a code of ethics and schedule regular meetings for the year. Post Falls School Board members will then go through various reports and policies and consider approval of a budget timeline.
Post Falls trustees are also expected to discuss the possibility of a four-day school week.
