School officials skip fight over field

Because of a decision Monday by the Coeur d’Alene School Board, David Wilson no longer has to give a presentation to the City Council tonight.

At a school board meeting Monday, the trustees decided not to pursue the option of building a new Lakes Middle School on Persons Field. The issue was going to go before the council because the city and district co-own the field.

Wilson, who lives a block away from Persons, opposed the idea because of the increased traffic it would bring to the neighborhood and the loss of open space. He was home, working on his speech Monday night, as part of a coordinated effort by neighbors and others against the proposal, when he received a call telling him the news.

“Excellent. Excellent,” Wilson said.

Other Coeur d’Alene parks have trees and benches that aren’t amenable to the football and soccer games that are common at the field, he said. “Losing that green space will be a crying shame so I’m glad they decided to withdraw their proposal.”

But the decision to rebuild at the current Lakes Middle School will cost taxpayers $2 million more than building a replacement at Persons Field, district officials warned on Monday.

The added costs would come from demolition, asbestos removal in the current building and the displacement of students for about two years.

Trustee Christie Wood responded: “I believe it will be difficult to put a cost on green space.”

Her thoughts were echoed by others on the board, who weighed the immediate cost of staying at the present site with the long-term cost of losing the field.

With money matters on the mind, the board also agreed to reduce the levy rate to less than $2 for every $1,000 in assessed property value, in deference to the fact that property values are soaring, affecting taxpayers’ pocketbooks.

The district will research what specific amount is feasible to ask of voters in March, and for what period of time, in order to fund needed building improvements and construction projects.

The district had initially estimated a $50 million levy for five building projects, but now a $40 million levy is looking more likely.

As a result, one of the projects on the list – probably the remodeling of Canfield Middle School – will have to be delayed until the next levy.

The other proposed projects, besides those at Lakes and Canfield middle schools, are building a new elementary, and remodeling Winton and Borah elementary schools.

Wilson, the neighbor, said he wasn’t bothered by the possible increase in his taxes because Lakes Middle School will stay where it is.

“If it costs a touch more to keep the field,” Wilson said, “it’s worth it because of what you get out of that field.”