On her Facebook page, Coeur d'Alene School Board Vice Chairman Christa Hazel posts: "Proud to say the school board unanimously approved an emergency levy based on an increase in student enrollment. Generally, I prefer a public vote on levies. I am frustrated that our legislature forces our district to place such a heavy burden on the local taxpayer. However, I believe this was necessary at this time based on the conditions in classrooms I observed this week. Our district could have legally levied up to $545,465 but we opted to not take the full amount allowed based on the enrollment increases." More below.

Thoughts?

So where does the $450,000 go? We arrived at this figure after two hours of debate and compromise with $30,000 for an additional Kindergarten teacher; $20,000 for an elementary specialist; $75,000 for additional secondary staffing in classrooms; $50,000 for curricular materials; $20,000 for added secretarial support; as well as $20,000 for additional tech support. Most important to my fellow trustees and I, we went beyond the district recommended amounts and added additional money for elementary classroom aides ($180,000 up from $100,000) and additional money to building budgets ($50,000 up from $30,000) that will directly affect classroom needs. We did NOT fund an additional bus purchase, fund new programs or hire additional administrators with emergency levy dollars. For me personally, I based my vote on what will help alleviate overcrowding in classrooms and have the closest impact on our students.