LPOSD talks levy options

SANDPOINT — The Lake Pend Oreille School Board sought the most bang for the community’s buck Tuesday when members discussed possibilities for a two-year supplemental levy.

Previous levies collected from residential property tax ran just under $11 million. With the end of the stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in sight, that amount could see an increase come next year. Regardless of levy changes, school districts are facing some tough choices in determining which services should be cut, which should be fully supported and which deserve additional funding from a supplemental levy. The need to distribute funding to schools on a per-student basis complicated matters further. Despite the difficult decisions at hand, LPOSD officials maintain a positive attitude.

“We think we have the right staff in place and the right initiatives to keep moving forward,” Lake Pend Oreille School District Superintendent Dick Cvitanich said.

In the various levy plan proposals, one substantial expense variable are student assistance programs like summer school or remedial courses.

Labeled as “intervention services,” they include any program designed to keep kids up to speed.

LPOSD administrators propose three different options, each largely characterized by its treatment of intervention services in elementary schools. The first option maintains services at all schools and contributes more than $1.2 million to the levy. Limited services involving one specialized teacher trained to assist slower learners at smaller schools like Washington, Sagle and Southside reduces that figure to $964,000. A third option eliminates intervention services at two or more smaller schools and totals $914,000.

If approved, the levy would be in effect for 2011-’13.

However, the elimination of all intervention services brings about serious disadvantages. Cvitanich said enrollment increased by 393 students, with each possessing a different skill level. In order to accommodate one of the district’s primary goals — increased student performance — the administration found it important to meet students at their individual levels.

Cvitanich said the LPOSD administration doesn’t yet know how much the levy would cost individual households. However, the tax goes straight to the school district and not to Boise for redistribution.

LPOSD staffers also discussed student retention from middle school to high school. According to Cvitanich, the transition from eighth to ninth grade represents the highest drop-out rates in the entire spectrum of basic education. He said that the district needed to encourage troubled middle schoolers to continue their education with increased incentive.

“If I’m a student and I’m not getting credit for middle school, I’m not going to put a lot of effort into reaching the next step,” Cvitanich said.