Bonner’S Divided Districts Start Year With New Name, Safety Rules

School officials ushered in a new school year and era on Monday by unveiling a new name for the East Bonner County schools - Lake Pend Oreille Schools.

Classes start Wednesday in both of the new districts created when the Bonner County School District officially was split in July.

“I’m so bullish on our future here,” said Lake Pend Oreille School Board chairman Tom Scott. “Today is the day to draw a line in the sand. … From this day forward, we are creating a new future.”

But just because the school districts are newly divided doesn’t mean students and parents will notice a lot of changes right away.

In the West Bonner County School District, based in Priest River, the biggest difference will be bus routes, said Superintendent Joe Malletta.

In the split, the west end of the district wound up with too few buses to continue traditional routes.

“We have combined some bus routes in order to save money,” Malletta said. In addition, all schools will start at the same time to avoid having double bus runs.

Both school districts have reached tentative agreements with their teachers unions.

In West Bonner County, the agreement includes a 2.7 percent pay increase that will be renegotiated after an audit of the formerly combined district is complete and reported to the school boards, Malletta said.

Details of the agreement in the Lake Pend Oreille School District won’t be available until the agreement is ratified.

Teachers filled the cafeteria and half the gym’s risers at Sandpoint High School Monday morning for speeches, information and to get their photos taken for identification badges - a security measure initiated last year after several bomb scares repeatedly closed the high school and middle schools.

But Lake Pend Oreille school officials were anxious to put trying times behind them and rallied teachers with a pep talk and information about the district’s strategic plan.

This year, a leadership team will focus on three planning areas: student success, facilities and conduct.

“We’re going after assaults. We’re going after the shoving in the hallways. We’re going after the language,” Scott said, earning deafening applause.

Scott also praised the support of the community, particularly the Citizens for Quality Education, which funds improvements in the school district, and the passage of two levies last year, totaling nearly $2.6 million.