Dear Friends,
On March 14 the voters of Kootenai County Idaho will be asked to approve a couple of levies. These levies are for a significant amount of money, so must be carefully considered.
Schools have a habit of increasing staff salaries but letting maintenance and other needs slide. They know you will pay more for those things, since “they are for the children”.
However, salaries are already above what they could make in other jobs and most only work for ten months.
It is our recommendation that you not approve these levies as they represent poor budgeting practices and are not needed or they would have been planned for. Since achievement levels have remained relatively flat it makes little sense to reward failure. Schools need some incentive to increase performance, to cut support staff, and improve methods of teaching.
With that in mind we simply cannot recommend that anyone support this measure.
Here is information on the levies:
The first levy is a “SUMMENTAL LEVY” and this levy is for 25 million and will last forever; it will have no terminus. Here is what the levy will pay for:
SUPPLEMENTAL LEVY
This would replace the 2-year supplemental levy expiring at the end of the current school year (June 30, 2023). The levy provides one-quarter of our annual operating funds, and pays for employee costs, textbooks and classroom supplies, student computers, extracurricular activities, safety personnel, student transportation, custodial services, and more. (Note the levy it replaces was for two years; this proposed levy has no end.)
$25,000,000
TOTAL ANNUAL LEVY AMOUNT
This will cost $95.21 per $100,000 of assessed valuation. So a home valued at $500,000 would see an annual cost of $476.05. This levy only needs just more than 50% to pass.
The second levy is a “SAFETY AND MAINTENANCE LEVY”.
The levy is for $5,000,000 and is for just five (5) years. It requires 55% to pass.
The cost would be $19.04 per $100,000 of assessed valuation. So a home valued at $500,000 would see an annual cost of $95.20.
Here is what the levy would pay for:
SAFETY AND MAINTENANCE LEVY (passes with approval of 55%)
This levy would expire after 5 years and would fund deferred maintenance and safety projects not currently funded from state and local revenues. This includes school repairs and updates of mechanical systems, plumbing, roofs, flooring, fences, parking lots, security enhancements and other school safety projects.
AMOUNT: $5 million annually for 5 years
$4,500,000 – Deferred maintenance and improving school sites, including HVAC, roofs, electrical, plumbing systems, interior finishes/flooring, exterior site work, equipment and furnishings
$ 500,000 – Safety and security, including fencing, security cameras, door access controls, safety glazing
$5,000,000 – TOTAL ANNUAL LEVY AMOUNT (levy will expire June 30, 2028)
LEVY RATE: The estimated average annual cost to the property taxpayer is $19.04 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, per year, based on current conditions. (This is about 19 cents per $1,000.)
SPENDING PLAN
See below for an overview of how these levy funds would be spent, by year and by project category. At the bottom of this page you will find links to more detailed summaries of the levy spending plan.
Here is the detail of how the Five-Year Deferred Maintenance Project would be spent. Here is the list.
| Year 12023-24 | Year 22024-25 | Year 32025-26 | Year 42026-27 | Year 52027-28 | TOTAL | |
| HVAC systems | 545,390 | 966,476 | 838,953 | 588,358 | 2,850,718 | 5,789,895 |
| Roofs | 1,314,008 | 517,201 | 624,038 | 2,600,621 | 182,177 | 5,238,045 |
| Asphalt paving | 445,387 | 360,306 | 1,423,342 | 317,798 | 2,546,833 | |
| Floors | 200,000 | 1,171,937 | 200,000 | 100,000 | 100,000 | 1,771,937 |
| Running track | 774,340 | 578,340 | 1,352,680 | |||
| Tennis courts | 594,000 | 625,000 | 1,219,000 | |||
| Exterior walls | 209,882 | 66,983 | 123,874 | 400,739 | ||
| Structural | 351,120 | 17,927 | 20,000 | 389,047 | ||
| Other* | 143,000 | 97,980 | 80,000 | 320,980 | ||
| Bathrooms | 40,705 | 58,749 | 43,134 | 29,253 | 135,668 | 307,509 |
| Drainage/gutters | 161,274 | 115,951 | 9,294 | 286,519 | ||
| Painting | 45,000 | 45,000 | 45,000 | 45,000 | 45,000 | 225,000 |
| Water heaters | 40,000 | 40,000 | 40,000 | 40,000 | 40,000 | 200,000 |
| Doors | 6,089 | 162,672 | 168,761 | |||
| Sidewalks | 95,000 | 17,350 | 112,350 | |||
| Ceilings | 15,000 | 15,000 | 15,000 | 15,000 | 15,000 | 75,000 |
| Fire sprinklers | 58,778 | 58,778 | ||||
| Kitchen | 47,000 | 47,000 | ||||
| Contingency, inflation** | 300,234 | 350,132 | 394,046 | 450,678 | 494,838 | 1,989,928 |
| TOTAL | 4,500,000 | 4,500,000 | 4,500,000 | 4,500,000 | 4,500,000 | 22,500,000 |
