WBCSD to put $4.68M levy on ballot

▶️ Audio story available.

PRIEST RIVER — West Bonner trustees voted 4-1 at a special board meeting Wednesday to put a one-year supplemental levy for just over $4.68 million on the May 21 ballot.

Trustees Margy Hall, Troy Reinbold, Ann Yount, and Paul Turco voted to put the levy on the ballot. Voting against was trustee Kathy Nash.

Specifics of the ballot language will be discussed at a special meeting on March 18.

In detailing the district’s projected shortfall, Superintendent Joe Kren told trustees he looked at board-approved goals and looked at the cost of meeting district needs, from curriculum to staffing to technology needs, school buses to replace an aging fleet and critical repairs to school roofs.

Safety, security, and maintenance costs total an estimated $917,000, while a school resource officer would cost just over $112,000. The cost to purchase new buses is estimated at $258,000; child nutrition and curricular materials total just over $186,000; and technology, health, and liability total roughly $152,000.

Salary, benefits, services, and administration costs as well as extracurricular and co-curricular costs, which would be funded completely by the levy, make up the rest.

Legislation making its way through the Legislature could send funding to districts to help with said. While numbers are still in flux, the district could receive an estimated $390,000 to $422,000. If the funding comes through, it could be subtracted from any levy approved by voters, lowering the cost of what the annual tax rate would be based on, Kren said.

Hall, the board chair, said the budget is a “reasonable” one that meets critical facility needs, addresses safety issues, and covers curriculum and staffing costs. A one-year levy would give the district time to complete its audits and hire a business manager and a new superintendent.

“The other piece critical is we still need to stay competitive,” Hall said. “If we don’t, open enrollment will kill us because if we don’t at least offer the basics and take the next year to keep pushing through and getting our house in order, I think, is critical.”

Saying the numbers were not reliable and urging the board to wait on any levy proposal was new trustee Nash, who was sworn into office in January.

“The educational value isn’t meeting the standard for which people are going to support a levy for more dollars,” she said.

Trustee Turco, who was appointed to his seat after the recall of former trustees Keith Rutledge and Susan Brown, disputed Nash’s contention the numbers were inaccurate. As trustees, Turco said the board has a responsibility to taxpayers and constituents to tell them what it costs to run the district.

“And this is the cost,” Turco added. “This is what running a public school system costs. We have to give them the opportunity. If we don’t give them an opportunity, to say here’s the cost, here’s the budget and put it to the taxpayers to vote, then we are not doing our job.”

Yount, who was also appointed to her seat after the successful recall, agreed with Turco, saying cutting staffing would not trim much from a levy and would increase class sizes to the point where learning could be affected. While some numbers are estimates, Yount said the district needs to move forward with putting a levy on the May 21 ballot.

While the district is waiting on its audits and likely needs to make changes, Reinbold agreed the district needs to put a levy on the ballot, noting he favored a one-year levy.

“We have to prove ourselves,” Reinbold said. “That we are out for what is best for the kids, No. 1, but show the taxpayers … that we’re willing to fix things.”

Several speakers appealed to the board to run a levy, saying numbers presented at recent WBCSD Finance Committee meetings show the $4.68 million is the bare minimum needed to fully fund the district and make a start on critical facility repairs, such as aging roofs.

“There is no fluff [in Superintendent Joe Kren’s] numbers,” said Candy Turner. “It is what is needed. I attended the facility meeting and was told we needed $800,000 to correct all of the things that have needed to be addressed and haven’t been done. We are putting our kids’ lives in a safety situation so, for once, let’s go for a levy that will take care of all of our needs.”

Whether the district has 500 kids or thousands, levy supporters said items covered in the proposed levy are the minimum of what is needed to give district students the education they deserve.

The district is charged with educating its students and the board’s greatest concern must be in the educational welfare of the youth in its care, Brooke Ramsey told trustees.

“I understand that even the minimum is a large number but it is time we stop piecemealing the needs of these kids in the schools in our district,” Ramsey said. “It is time we took care of some major facility needs and we need to support our teachers and staff.”

Ramsey said the success of an August recall shows the days of voter apathy in the district are over.

“People will get out to vote, they will support this levy,” Ramsey said. “There are members of this community who will work tirelessly to get the vote to support this Levy. I ask that you trust us, trust this community. A levy, even a large one, will pass.”

However, critics say putting a levy on the ballot before either the district’s annual audit or its forensic audit to be completed is premature.

They pointed to low student numbers and the need to be fiscally responsible as just a few of the reasons to not run a levy at this time.

“I spoke with constituents this week who are appalled that you're even thinking of a levy,” Maureen Paterson told trustees. “Please wait for the state-required annual audit to be completed so you have real figures that can be relied on.”

While supporting a levy, at least one speaker asked the board to keep any proposed levy as low as possible, saying that too much remained uncertain to do otherwise.

“I recommend you ask for only what you can prove you need,” Ann Wilder Chamberlain said in asking for a one-year levy. “Please don’t ask for more than what the voters will vote for but also please don’t sell our district short.”