Voters approve $8.9M LPOSD levy

SANDPOINT — Voters turned out en masse to approve Lake Pend Oreille School District's supplemental levy request.

The two-year, $8.9 million levy takes effect on December's property taxes, replacing a $6.4 million levy that ends in June.

"It's great news," said LPOSD Superintendent Dick Cvitanich. "We're really elated."

Almost double the number of voters headed to the polls Tuesday — 5,700 compared to 2,869 in March 2005 — with 64.1 percent, or 3,642, voting for the levy and 35.9 percent, or 2,058, voting no. The levy needed 50 percent plus 1 vote to pass.

While challenges still remain and some budget cutting remains, approval of the levy will ensure the core programs will remain intact and allow the district to keep moving forward, Cvitanich said.

"I'm grateful for the voters' confidence in our programs," he added.

The large voter turnout is the largest number for a district levy in some time. That is something that Cvitanich attributes to everyone — from staff to parents to district officials to students — who "worked hard to make sure information got out to the public."

The levy will pay for curriculum, student and extra curricular activities, staff, technology, instruction, kitchen equipment, one school bus and maintenance.

It allocates the following amount of money for: child nutrition, $75,000; two school buses, $144,000; facilities, $1,129,448; technology, $1,392,150; curriculum professional development, $588,331; kindergarten intervention, $295,000; student activities including transportation, $1,344,634; and staff, $3,999,437.

The amount, which board members called a "replacement levy," breaks down to $4,557,313 for 2007-08 and $4,410,687 for 2008-09.