West Bonner ponders future, possible levy

PRIEST RIVER — Financial concerns, delays in completing audits and a need to detail future operating expenses have prevented the West Bonner County School District from deciding whether to put a levy on the May 20 ballot — or, if it does, for how much. 

Those issues are at the heart of both a board work session and special meeting scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 27. Both meetings will be held at Priest River Elementary, 231 Harriet St.

It will be the second time in just over a week that the board has addressed the issue, discussing the potential for a levy at its Feb. 19 regular meeting.

At that meeting, West Bonner County Superintendent Kim Spacek said district staff are working to pinpoint what it will cost to run each of the schools. That data includes what it would cost to run two schools, one elementary and one secondary with a combined middle and high school; and what it would cost to run four schools, with three elementary schools and a combined secondary school, with middle school and high school students divided into separate wings.

Without a levy, Spacek said the district will only have enough funds to keep two schools open. It is also unlikely that there would be any extracurricular or co-curricular activities. 

It is critical that the district be frank with its residents, West Bonner Board Chair Ann Yount said.

"I think it's important that we lay it out right now," Yount said. "What we need people to know that we have money to fund two schools. We need to lower our footprint and that's what we have money for."

It boils down to what district residents want, board and district officials said. If a certain levy of certified teaching staff and paraprofessionals, including aides, lunch staff and others, are wanted, then that may only be possible with a successful levy. If extracurricular and co-curricular activities, such as music and physical education classes, and sports are wanted, that that also may only be possible if a levy is approved.

"Let's look at the number of four schools," Margaret Hall, board vice chair, said. "What would it really cost us to do two schools, four schools, and then see where we are; and then see how we break that down."

Other trustees indicated similar feelings, asking district staff to bring a budget of what it would cost to run four schools.

"In my opinion, two schools is Plan B," trustee Delbert Pound said. "Plan A would be four schools. Plan A would be running a levy to facilitate four schools and sports. What's going to happen if a levy doesn't pass, we aren't going to have money for sports. We're not going to have money for anything. We're going to have two school. We'll have less teachers, less paraprofessionals. We're just going to have less with two schools."

With cuts to the budget and limited activities, the district has lost several hundred students to neighboring school districts. There is a danger, trustees said, that if the district losing additional students it could drop to a lower funding bracket, causing it to receiving even less money to operate.

"So without the community's support, without passing a levy, the bare bones are exactly that," trustee Paul Turco said. "We don't have the funding."

Trustee Kathy Nash asked district staff if there was a way to put a tiered levy on the ballot, giving residents the chance to vote what they want to see. With residents worried by the economy and inflation, Nash said residents might feel more comfortable supporting a levy because they would have control over what is funded.

Spacek said his goal is to see a four-school district with enough support staff, transportation and the ability to replenish its depleted reserve fund.

"A fully functioning school district is what I think we're always after and that's why we're doing the hard work," Spacek said. "We're getting the community's trust by doing that work."

In leading up to the discussion, several commenters expressed frustration that, with just over a month to go before the March 31 filing deadline for any potential ballot, the district was no closer to an agreement on whether to run a levy, how much any potential levy would be or what it would cover.

Others questioned if the district had conducted a cost analysis on each school to determine how much the district receives in state and federal funding and how much each costs.

"A budget as critical as this should not be built without taking all details into consideration," Frankie Dunn said, noting she had not seen any costs or revenues associated with running Priest Lake Elementary. 

As a rural school, the district receives more funds to operate the school because it is located farther away from the central office. Closing the school could end up costing the district more than it saves, Dunn told the board. 

The board, she added, has a duty to do what is best for all West Bonner students. 

"Please be certain you are working with all the facts before making a decision that cannot be reversed," Dunn said.

Candy Turner, a former teacher who now serves on the Priest River City Council, told the board there is frustration brewing that the board is taking so long to make a decision on a potential levy while nearby districts have already announced plans to run a levy.

"We have no idea, and we're getting close," Turner said. "And every time we come to a board meeting, we hear nothing about where the money is, how much it's taken this year to run the school district up into this point. … We've got to make some decisions here, whether it's to close schools (or run a levy)."