LPOSD asking for $13M in budget requests

SANDPOINT — Lake Pend Oreille School District employees are asking for about $13 million in budget requests for an upcoming two-year supplemental levy.

However, board members are concerned that putting a measure before voters with substantially more heft than the current levy will lead to its defeat given current economic conditions.

At a recent budget workshop, curriculum director Judy Hull scaled back several requests, including $299,000 for K-6 social studies curriculum. The district will not be purchasing text books for this age group, but she does not expect the curriculum to change in the next four years.

For a second time, she also withdrew a request to hire educational coaches — positions which have proven successful in other districts, she said.

The district's principals are asking that current staff be retained — a cost of $3,220,210 per year after trustees made the decision to cut about 34 teachers and support staff during the current education funding cycle.

LPOSD made the cuts in its staff because of declining student enrollment, a reduction in federal funding and what many believe is a failure at legislative level to adjust Idaho's school funding formula.

That formula has not been updated since the mid-1990s — before school districts began using computers, computer technology and were required by the No Child Left Behind Act to test students on a regular basis.

Board member Steve Youngdahl said he hopes people understand that the district isn't seeking to pay for luxurious programs with the supplemental levy.

"It exposes the flaw in Idaho's funding formula," he said.

The supplemental levy is "part-two of our operational funding," he said.

The supplemental levy also would pay for extracurricular programs, including salaries, athletic programs and academic programs such as math clubs.

The existing supplemental levy is $8.9 million— an amount that board member Joan Fish said she would like to stay as close to as possible because she fears voters aren't willing to pay for more than that.

That may be difficult however, as the school district predicts its enrollment will decline for the next couple of years.

Added to that, Idaho Supt. of Schools Tom Luna indicated school districts will face a funding holdback for the coming year. That amounts to $1.5 million for LPOSD, said business manager Lisa Hals.

Trustees discussed several possible cost cutting measures at a previous workshop. Those items included a four-day school week, pay-to- play sports and closing a school — although that would have to wait two years until construction is complete at Kootenai Elementary. "We're no longer cutting fat, we're cutting muscle and bone," said trustee Fish.

Trustees hope to come to a final number at a workshop set for 4 p.m. today at a workshop scheduled for Farmin Stidwell Elementary.