LEVY OPPOSITION: Vote of no confidence

A lady walking her dog by my home saw my “Vote NO” signs while I was outside working. She identified herself as a teacher in the Coeur d’Alene district, and wanted to know why I was against.

This is not what I said to her, but as succinctly as I can say to the school board and Superintendent Hocker here: You’ve got a lot of nerve to propose a tax on the community that lasts in perpetuity. Levies are supposed to be finite. When they are up for renewal, a vote by the citizens is our way to provide the taxing district a vote of confidence (or not) on the job which they are doing. That alone was a show-stopper for me, and I suspect most of the people who voted against.

Our conversation continued and this teacher to whom I was speaking admitted that the Coeur d’Alene School District is top-heavy in Administration. This supports my conviction that the district ought to look inward for the resources to reduce class sizes and keep up on maintenance, rather than make such an outrageous demand on the wallets of our community.

And last, recent events about bathrooms and safety only reinforce my frustration that the Coeur d’Alene School District is unnecessarily focused political correctness at the expense of providing students with the tools to be successful and productive members of society. Ergo, you get a vote of “no confidence” from me. The board needs to do some serious soul-searching before asking levy money.

THOMAS SHAFER

Hayden