MY TURN: 'Supplemental' levy?

Public schools are the foundation of our nation’s democracy. Article IX Section 1 of the Idaho Constitution requires the state to “establish and maintain a general, uniform, and thorough system of public, free, common schools.” So why then are most districts in our state reliant on local property tax dollars for a portion of operational costs? The answer is simple: Idaho’s funding formula is antiquated and does not begin to meet the costs of educating children in the 21st century.

Established in 1994, Idaho’s current funding formula uses average daily attendance (ADA) to fund schools. In other words, in order for a school district in our state to receive 100% of its operational funding, 100% of the students would need to be present 100% of the time. I think we can all agree that 100% attendance is unrealistic. On average, a student's absence results in $46 per day of lost funding. Post Falls educates nearly 5,800 students. On a given day, we have 456 students absent. These absences equate to $20,976 of operational funding lost each day, or $3,067,662 lost last year.

The May 20 PFSD levy equates to 11.4% of its operational budget. When one considers our average daily attendance rate is 92.6%, this means only 4% is truly “supplemental.” Is school safety and security supplemental? I think not. PFSD receives approximately $77,000 for school safety and expends over $1.6M per year. Are extracurricular activities and athletics for our students supplemental? I think not. Post Falls is the 11th-largest school district in the state of Idaho. Our students and parents deserve and expect robust activity programs. Is our participation in Kootenai Technical Education Campus (KTEC) supplemental? No. Our students who attend KTEC graduate with certifications that enable them to secure jobs with a livable wage right out of high school. Are our teachers, support staff, and administrators supplemental? Again — no. It is no secret that we have to pay higher wages than the state allocation to remain competitive and retain the great people we have working with our students each day.

Sadly, requiring districts to call levies “supplemental” is one more way to confuse voters and communicate to patrons that this money is above and beyond. It is not. School districts are not immune to inflation, and the costs to educate our most vulnerable students have risen exponentially in the past 31 years. Please vote on May 20. Your vote ensures FUNDAMENTAL programs and staffing continue for the students in the Post Falls School District. For more information, please tune into our community-wide levy webinar at 6 p.m. May 1. To access the link, go to www.pfsd.com and click on the levy tab.

Thank you for your consideration.

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Dena Naccarato is the superintendent of schools for the Post Falls School District.