Enrollment Triggers Special Levy Meeting

The Coeur d’Alene School District will consider an emergency levy at a special meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. today.

The meeting comes on the heels of attendance counts showing approximately 200 more students attended classes this week in Coeur d’Alene, than during the comparable period last year. Total enrollment is at roughly 8,600.

“We were overcrowded before we started so we anticipated some growth. But we are scrambling a little,” assistant superintendent Dave Teater said Thursday. District administrators and board members are meeting to estimate what the district’s needs will be to accommodate the unexpected growth.

“We are looking at pretty much the traditional kinds of things,” Teater said, “… like, do we need additional teachers, additional aides or textbooks.”

When student numbers climb over the previous school year, state law allows districts to collect additional taxes without a public vote.

While district officials aren’t saying how much they are considering levying, the district last year approved a $221,076 emergency levy. That was triggered by attendance exceeding estimates by 105 students.

The Coeur d’Alene School District receives $3,130 per student in state funding. , DataTimes