Enrollment Increases Force Emergency Levies Coeur D’Alene, Post Falls Districts Raise Taxes To Cope With New Students

Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls taxpayers must dole out a little more cash this year to pay for the growing public school population.

Both districts approved emergency levies Monday to give the schools extra cash for staff, curricula and supplies.

The Coeur d’Alene School Board approved a $702,726 tax increase to cover the 197 new students in the district. For a resident owning a $100,000 home, that means a $13.20 annual tax hike.

In Post Falls, a resident with a $100,000 home faces a $25.80-per-year tax increase. The school board approved a $438,000 emergency levy to pay for the district’s 176 new students.

But Post Falls business manager Sid Armstrong said the amount actually is 10 cents less than what taxpayers spent last year.

“Taxes overall are going down,” Armstrong said.

That’s partially because the tax base in the Post Falls area has grown by $37.5 million because of construction in the last year, Armstrong said. That helps fund the costs of educating the soaring student population in one of North Idaho’s fastest-growing areas.

The Post Falls district approved a $330,000 emergency levy last year.

In Coeur d’Alene, this is the fifth year the district has needed more money to deal with a growing student population.

Last year, the board approved a $95,800 levy, which meant homeowners paid $1.84 more in taxes for a $100,000 home.

Business Manager Steve Briggs said that amount was artificially low because the Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy took 90 students out of the district. Private schools also had increased enrollment.

That meant the district had only a 27-student enrollment increase, compared with this year’s 197 student population growth

“That’s the big difference,” he said.

On Thursday, the Plummer/Worley Joint School Board approved a $40,442 emergency levy. The district expanded by 2.5 percent for a total student enrollment of 573 students.

For homeowners with a $100,000 home, that means a $14.20 annual tax increase.

Superintendent Wayne Trottier said Monday it will be a tight budget year even with the emergency cash. The district may have to hire more staff than originally anticipated to provide adequate special needs programs required by state law.

Trottier said these expenses were unplanned and the district will have to cut costs in other areas such as supplies.

“These things happen to all school districts,” he said. “It just seems like we got hit even harder because we’re smaller.”

In other news, Christie Wood was sworn in as Coeur d’Alene School Board’s Zone 3 trustee. Wood was appointed in August to represent the northwestern part of the district.

Wood replaces trustee John Goedde, who resigned in July to pursue his Republican bid for the state Senate.

Wood, a Coeur d’Alene police detective specializing in domestic violence, previously worked in area schools as a resource officer providing security, counseling and mentoring.

Wood must win the 2001 school board election to retain her seat.

Trustee Edie Brooks wants the board to present a resolution to the Idaho School Boards Association to urge state legislators to use surplus tax dollars to increase teacher salaries and incentive programs statewide.

Brooks said Idaho ranks last in the nation for teachers’ salaries. For example, the average annual salary is $34,000, which is about $6,000 less than the national average.

The board took no action on the proposal. If it passes, the Coeur d’Alene board will present it to the state board for consideration.