Lakeland superintendent talks levy with Rathdrum Chamber

RATHDRUM — One hundred percent of seniors at Lakeland, Timberlake and Mountain View Alternative high schools graduated at the close of the 2024 school year.

"That's 13 years of commitment and dedication from an amazing staff working with amazing parents to take care of kids and make sure that they have the skills that they need to be successful," Lakeland Joint School District Superintendent Lisa Arnold said Thursday as she spoke at a Rathdrum Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church.

“Our graduation rate, in my mind, is kind of our report card of the whole K-12 system, because kids don’t graduate magically because they got to high school," she said. "They graduate because they had a really solid educational foundation all the way through, starting with those sweet kindergarten teachers who spend the first two months herding cats.”

Four-year graduation cohort data, which tracks students from freshman to senior year, also reflects high graduation rates for the school district, with Lakeland High at 94.4%, Mountain View at 90.1% and Timberlake at 98.2%.

Timberlake's graduation cohort rate is the highest Arnold has ever seen, "which is amazing," she said.

She shared this data as part of an informational session about the district's upcoming supplemental levy election. Lakeland will ask its constituents to cast their votes May 20 when the two-year, $7.52 million-per-year replacement levy will be on the ballot.

In November, the two-year, $9.52 million-per-year supplemental levy that would have replaced the district's current levy was voted down by a slim margin of voters. The current levy will expire June 30.

Arnold said Lakeland staff have a theme for each school year, and this year's is "Stronger together."

“As we ran the levy in November and saw the outcome of that levy, this theme for the staff became more important to me as I’m looking at our community and trying to figure out how do we all come together to recognize the importance of what a strong school system does for the community?” she said.

The 2025-27 supplemental levy will support curriculum, safety, extracurricular activities, athletics, co-curricular activities, transportation, staff positions and elective classes.

Lakeland High junior and Key Club member Jacqueline Gallus joined Arnold for a Q&A toward the end of the presentation. One audience member asked Jacqueline why she wants the levy to pass.

"I'm taking a lot of dual-credit classes at high school," she said. "If this levy doesn't get passed, I won't be able to take those dual-credit classes anymore and those teachers will most likely be cut."

She is also concerned about athletics and extracurriculars being cut.

"I play soccer, basketball and I do track, I also do Key Club and a few other things, and those are all provided through the levy," she said.

The Lakeland Leadership Team is inviting the community to attend a Lakeland levy town hall from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Hauser Fire Station, 10728 N. Hauser Lake Road. 

Info: sd272.org