CDA SCHOOL LEVIES: Failure is ‘unthinkable’

On March 14, our community faces two critical votes to support Coeur d’Alene public schools.

The first vote, the essential maintenance and operations levy, funds 25% of our schools’ budget that the state of Idaho fails to fund. This levy supports extracurricular activities, classroom aides, school security officers, school nurses, curriculum and much more. Without the passage of this levy we can say goodbye to Friday night football games, orchestra and band concerts, student theater, libraries, Career Technical Education and special education services. Our schools would be a skeleton of what they are today.

The second vote is the deferred maintenance and safety levy. This levy would fund school maintenance projects also not funded by the state of Idaho. We have school buildings that are decades old with crucial maintenance needs including, outdated HVAC systems, leaking roofs and unsafe sidewalks, to name a few. The security portion of this levy vote insures our kids are safe at school. It would fund school fencing, security cameras, door access controls and additional security measures.

A yes vote on March 14 guarantees a continued quality public education in Coeur d’Alene schools. A yes vote on March 14 guarantees we can send our kids to safe and secure schools. A yes vote on March 14 sends the message to our community we value our children and a vibrant public education system. I encourage you to be an informed, educated voter. These are the facts. Failure of these levies is unthinkable.

NANCY S. HART

Hayden