LPOSD enrollment requests rise

PONDERAY — More students are seeking enrollment in Lake Pend Oreille School District than last year. 

With the first day of school approaching, Superintendent Dr. Becky Meyer shared an enrollment report at an Aug. 13 board of trustees meeting. 

According to the report, 315 students applied to join the district last fall; 56 of them lived outside the district’s boundaries. This year’s total is 383. Ninety-six of those are out of district, including 68 from West Bonner School District. 

At the time of the meeting, 115 enrollments had been approved and six had been denied. 258 were classified as a “provisional acceptance.” 

“Unless there is chronic absenteeism or chronic behavioral issues, we are not going to deny any seventh through 12th grader at all,” Meyer said.

Of the other grade levels, Meyer said the district began making decisions this week. 

“We would like to bring people into the fold, but we also don't want to make it a detriment to our currently enrolled students,” Meyer said. “We have to make some hard decisions, sometimes.” 

Meyer added that staffing, facilities, and funding must all be considered as enrollment is being determined. 

“It's a lot of moving pieces to fit all together,” she said. “We're doing the best we can, definitely, to protect our class sizes.” 

The meeting also included the results of a parent survey conducted by LPOSD in June. When asked what areas they would like to see improved, 48.4% of respondents identified facilities condition. 

Meyer noted that a total of 126 parents completed the survey. “I would like more parents to answer,” said Meyer. “It's not a very good number.” 

In an update on recent maintenance projects, Facilities Director Matt Diel described the work performed by district staff over the summer. 

Diel reported that the gym floors at Farmin Stidwell Elementary School and Sandpoint High School have been refurbished, while the gym roof and track lights at Clark Fork Jr./Sr. High School have received maintenance.  

The Sandpoint High School track also received recent attention in the form of a completely new surface. Diel stated the track would be opened on Monday, Aug. 19. 

Following the Aug. 13 meeting, LPOSD revealed the total amount of its recently awarded career readiness grant. 

The roughly $3.5 million package represents a significant chunk of the original $4.5 million request and will support the district’s 10-year vision to build a career technical education center open to students from five area high schools. 

According to the district, LPOSD leaders will meet this summer to begin outlining details for the project.