Fee change, new trustees and a sidewalk

COEUR d'ALENE — It's been at least a dozen years since the Coeur d'Alene School District increased its driver's education fee.

That cost will go from $190 to $265 per student for classes that start after July 1, following Monday's unanimous approving vote by school board trustees at the recommendation of Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Trent Derrick.

“Of the three larger districts in the county, we’re the only one that still maintains a school-based driver’s ed program, and it has been a successful program," Derrick said. "We do have a situation where we’re running it at a deficit right now."

The district's driver's ed program annually serves 250 students who are instructed by a dedicated teacher. Eight classes with 27 students per class are offered each year, and each class usually has a waiting list. 

Derrick and the trustees said they recognize it is a substantial but necessary change to help pay for fuel and maintenance expenses, the cost of a replacement vehicle, the instructor’s salary and benefits, 30 hours of classroom instruction and six hours of behind-the-wheel driving instruction. The fee does not cover a $26 learning permit fee.

The district receives some money from the state for the program, but it doesn’t cover everything, Derrick said. The rationale for the increase is the program's $16,283 deficit.

“We went back 12 years, and in 12 years we never have increased the fee,” Derrick said. “That’s kind of why we’re at a place where we’re at right now.”

Private driver's ed costs $390-$675, based on researching fees of local companies that provide the instruction, Derrick said during his presentation to the board. He said many of those companies don’t offer classroom instruction, and online courses come with additional fees.

“Even at $265, we’re still significantly lower than the private companies that are in the area,” he said. 

In the future, he said, the district could choose to increase the fee by 5% every other year to have a gradual increase to cover inflation and increasing costs, rather than doing a larger increase once every 15 years.

Trustee Heather Tenbrink said she supports a more incremental fee adjustment.

“This is a large increase," she said. "However, as someone who’s had kids in driver’s ed many of the last many years, it’s still a good deal."

Monday marked the first official 2024 meeting of the Coeur d'Alene School Board, during which Tenbrink and newcomer Jimmy McAndrew were sworn in by board clerk Marianne Southwick. Chair Rebecca Smith was unanimously elected to serve as chair for her second year.

“I would love to see Rebecca continue as our chair," Tenbrink said as she nominated Smith. "I think she does a good job and commits the time needed to it, and I understand she’s willing."

Trustee Lesli Bjerke was unanimously voted in as vice chair of the board. Bjerke and McAndrew were voted to serve on the district's negotiations team when teacher contracts are up for debate later this year.

Also during the meeting, it was proposed that the city of Hayden would install a sidewalk at Hayden Meadows Elementary School at no cost to the district other than a 3-foot easement.

"We support this easement request so we can get a sidewalk leading right up to our school," Superintendent Shon Hocker said.

The board unanimously voted in favor of the project.

“The sidewalk in this phase would go from Maple to Finucane. That’s the stretch that most kids walk,” project manager Melissa Cleveland of Welch Comer Engineers said. “We’d eventually like to get it all the way down to Government Way, but this is the chunk in this phase."

Tenbrink said she doesn't have kids at Hayden Meadows, but a sidewalk would be awesome for that road.

"It’s going to be a huge benefit, for sure,” Trustee Allie Anderton said.

The next regular meeting of the Coeur d'Alene School Board is set for Feb. 12.

    Smith
  

Lesli Bjerke