Drivers ed fee may climb soon to $120

Student drivers in Coeur d’Alene could be paying more to take the wheel by July 1.

The Coeur d’Alene School District plans to increase fees for the drivers education course by 38 percent to $125 a student if the district board approves after a public hearing Monday.

School officials said the change is needed to maintain the program and add staff. Increased insurance and fuel costs pushed the school district to increase the fees.

“The costs seem to be going up faster than we can keep up with them,” said Judy Drake, executive director of staff and community relations, which includes the drivers education program.

The Coeur d’Alene program steers about 320 students through its six-week course each year. Students learn basic driving skills through 30 hours in class and six hours behind the wheel. After passing the course, students drive four months with their parents before taking to the streets on their own.

The most recent increase for the district was in 1999, when fees went from $50 to $90. Fee increases were discussed last year, but were postponed to keep costs low for students, Drake said.

“We try to keep fees as low as possible, and yet we need to be sure we cover the costs for (the program),” she said.

She added the increase will boost instructor pay to about $20 to $23 an hour from about $16 an hour, which may entice additional instructors so the district can keep up with a high demand for the driver training. The Coeur d’Alene School District has one full-time instructor, and students are often on waiting lists for months.

Some students opt for private instruction rather than waiting. Max Jenkins, owner of A and A Driving School in Coeur d’Alene, said he recently bumped up his fee to $295 to keep up with gas prices. But younger kids tend to flock to private courses despite the higher costs.

“Younger kids say, ‘I don’t want to wait a year and a half to take drivers ed,’ ” said Jenkins. “There’s a high demand. Kids want to drive.”

He received about 10 calls Thursday seeking open class slots, but his next opening isn’t until December.

Fred W. Enders, owner of Idaho Panhandle Driver Training School in Coeur d’Alene, has a full roster of students this summer. The course is $275, but Enders said he also may increase his fees to meet high gas prices and compete with other private instructors in the area.

Lakeland and Post Falls school districts have already increased fees this year, citing similar cost issues. Post Falls changed its fees to $120 from $90 in mid-April, and Lakeland changed to $150 from about $90.

Coeur d’Alene fees are only increased when needed, and the district covers some excess costs when they arise. But the school is chipping in more than intended, said Steve Briggs, executive director of finance.

“We established the program to be self-sufficient,” said Briggs. “We didn’t envision we’d be subsidizing it at all.”

The state reimburses schools $110 a student, which will increase to $125 on June 1. But that’s often not enough to cover costs. The excess costs vary from year to year, but in the last four years, about $20,000 to $25,000 was transferred from the district’s general fund to balance the program budget, said Drake.

The Coeur d’Alene School District board meeting will be held at noon Monday at the district office, 311 N. 10th St.