LPOSD ponders levy options
PONDERAY — No matter what option the Lake Pend Oreille School Board selects, trustees will be asking voters to improve a supplemental levy increase.
The board met Tuesday evening to continue discussing its options for a 2011-’12 levy.
District officials prepared three possible options to discuss with the trustees. The maximum two-year levy option, which maintained and developed existing school services, totaled $16,597,393. A middle-of-the-road option cut certain curriculum plans and staff additions and amounted to $14,115,328. Finally, the flat option kept the levy as close as possible to its current $10,950,000 price tag through more extensive cuts, but even that option still increased costs to $12,700,000.
Those numbers mean different things to different homeowners. But based on an average home valuation of $250,000, a resident with a homeowner’s exemption would annually pay $233 for the flat option, $253 for the middle option and $297 for the maximum option. Given the same parameters, homeowners without exemptions can expect an annual expense of $370, $400 or $470.
With the loss of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds and an indefinite amount of cutbacks on the state level, the district is determining where to prune its budget and where to request more money from taxpayers. Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, informed members of the board that state holdbacks for the district could initially range between $816,000 to $1,087,000, and board members speculated that more could follow afterwards.
“If there turns out to be fewer holdbacks, that would be great,” LPOSD Superintendent Dick Cvitanich said. “But we have to a plan something to address the needs of our schools if that money doesn’t come through.”
A donation to assist proposed War Memorial Field improvements was one projected expense that prompted some discussion. Trustee Joan Fish wondered whether it was cost effective to donate money for a property the school didn’t own. Others replied that the district used the field more than any other institution in the community. If it became unusable, schools could incur more expenses and trouble locating a new facility to accommodate sports programs.
“I think this donation could end up proving very cost effective, assuming the rest of the community pulls its own weight with contributions,” Cvitanich said.
The district aims to have the resolution for the final supplemental levy prepared by Dec. 17. In the meantime, members say they’re focusing on having a clear rationale for the increases they request from voters.
“We want a levy that is explainable and clear to taxpayers as to why they should vote for this,” trustee Mindy Cameron said.