CDA SCHOOL LEVY: Voting yes, but with a caveat

I have a “YES Coeur d’Alene Schools” sign in my front yard, and plan to vote in favor of the $25 million two-year levy; but this is the last time I will vote for this levy without an independently funded, third-party audit detailing what School District 271 actually needs to offset the state of Idaho funding shortfall. I define “independent funding” as not coming from School District 271 or the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee.

Teachers are the most important and essential personnel in a school district, and I resent School District 271 always using teacher job cut numbers as a scare tactic to the public for levy votes. The school administration jobs that do not have direct student contact should be on the line if there are to be cuts in funding. Human nature being what it is, administrative personnel who hire and fire teachers are reluctant to cut their own jobs.

MARK WEADICK

Coeur d’Alene