Boundary Schools Pare Levy For Third Try School District Facing Sports And Staffing Cuts If Measure Fails Again, Officials Say

To avoid cutting sports programs, staff and freezing salaries, Boundary County school trustees will rerun a levy that has failed twice already.

“It was a big debate on whether to go ahead and do this a third time, but we need the money,” said school board chairman Leonard Kucera.

“If it doesn’t work this time we are committed to making the cuts.”

Last month, the district twice pitched a $528,000 levy to voters. The levies needed only a simple majority to pass but both failed by less than 40 votes.

This time, the board reduced the levy to $490,000 and will put it to voters Aug. 6.

“To keep the programs we do have, and educate kids properly, we decided we needed to do this one more time,” superintendent John Schwartz said.

The levy money would go in the general fund to pay for educational supplies, including textbooks, fuel for buses and to heat and maintain buildings.

The board will meet next month to decide exactly what will be cut if the levy fails.

“We want everyone to know what the board will have to chop out of the budget if this doesn’t pass,” Kucera said. “We will go line by line and identify $490,000 worth of cuts so everyone knows what is at stake.”

District officials already said they may have to leave two teaching posts vacant, put off buying new language arts books, cut all extra-curricular sports activities, cancel the driver’s education program and freeze salaries.

Kucera said the district is no different than many others with 86 percent of its $7.1 million budget going to salaries and benefits. That leaves about $1.5 million to run buses, maintain buildings, pay heat and electric bills and update educational materials.

“All we are asking for is money to maintain existing programs in a district that already has a tight budget,” said Schwartz, who is retiring at the end of the week. He will turn over the reins to Reid Straabe, an Alaska educator who was hired by the board last month.

Kucera suspects residents rejected the previous levies as a protest to rising property taxes. But other residents urged the board to try one more time and promised to help get voters to the polls.

“I don’t argue that this levy is a burden on property owners,” Kucera said. “But regrettably, this is the only way we have to finance the schools.”

, DataTimes