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Although we don’t have children in school, we believe the Lake Pend Oreille School District system is one of the very best in the state and is a vital part of our community. That is why we are urging voters to approve the two-year supplemental levy to support operations and maintenance of our schools.

Of the total of $25,400,000 for two years, it provides 30 percent of the school district’s annual revenue, funding one-third of all district staff and ensures sound class size, secondary electives and small rural schools. Our teachers would be paid a wage regionally competitive in Idaho. It funds all academic and athletic extracurricular activities as well as all curriculum and instructional materials, professional development and mentoring, and technology necessary for our students to compete for jobs.

While state money is appropriated for schools, our legislature has traditionally not considered public education a high-enough priority to ensure adequate funding. We must help fund it if we want to maintain our quality of education that attracts businesses to locate here and hire locally.

Approving the levy, which replaces the expiring levy (it is not added on top) would help pay teachers and staff a regionally competitive salary. (As for homeowners’ costs — for a home with an assessed valuation of $250,000, the replacement levy would increase by $6.92 a month in 2020.)

That’s a small price to pay for a sound educational system and a ticket to the future for our young people. Vote “yes” on the supplemental levy on March 12.

PAT RAMSEY

Sandpoint