Levy's failure postpones projects

SANDPOINT — After voters overwhelming rejected a proposed $55.1 million plant facilities levy, rebuilds and upgrades of schools in the Lake Pend Oreille School District will have to wait.

"We are definitely disappointed with the results," said LPOSD Superintendent Shawn Woodward. "A lot of people worked really hard over the last year to get the measure in front of the voters."

He said the Citizens for Better Schools and the Facilities Planning Committee did some "really good work" to prepare the levy for the vote, but it was a learning lesson that will be discussed more in the future.

Just over 50 percent of the county's 16,729 registered voters decided the fate of the levy Tuesday. Of the votes cast, 2,953 were yes votes — or 34.95 percent — and 5,493 were no votes — or 65.02 percent.

The Facilities Planning Committee will reconvene soon, Woodward said, to debrief the process as well as the results.

The LPOSD Board of Trustees will have discussions as well about how to move forward, but the next supplemental levy will be a priority until it goes to voters in March. The current supplemental levy, which covers one-third of operational costs in the school district, passed in April 2015 and its two-year life span will end in 2017.

Another plant facilities levy, or possibly a bond, will be attempted in the future because the condition of the schools is not going to change, Woodward said. The plans for the levy included rebuilding Sandpoint Middle School, Washington Elementary and Northside Elementary; adding four classrooms to Sandpoint High School; track and athletic fields at SMS and SHS; a career technical center at Clark Fork Junior Senior High School; as well as additional district-wide projects, such as security upgrades.

The first thing the district plans to do as far as the failed plant facilities levy is to obtain feedback from the community. Sometime in the next week an online link will be set up on the district's website at www.LPOSD.org where people can provide anonymous feedback regarding the levy. The results of that feedback will be published on the website.

"We have a pretty good idea regarding some of the issues and concerns, because we gathered that during the various public meetings," he said. "But there is still a lot more that I think we can learn from people."

The main concern he has heard up to this point surrounds the amount of the levy. At $55.1 million spread out over six years, the levy would cost $200 per year to a taxpayer with a home valued at $200,000.

Another concern, he said, is some people believe there should have been more formal opportunities for community members to interface with the school board prior to a decision to run the levy.

"That's something that I believe the board would want to be more intentional moving forward and having more dialogue prior to making any kind of decision about moving forward," Woodward said.

Moving forward, Woodward said, the district will do things differently for the next plant facilities levy or bond. He said the next measure that will go to voters will be more "palatable," because they will engage more with community members.

"We have definitely learned a lot from the process and we hope to learn more," Woodward said.