CdA’s school levy deserves voter support

For the first time in its existence, Concerned Businesses of North Idaho has balked at a Coeur d’Alene School District levy.

The tax watchdog organization supports the bulk of the proposed $7.3 million annual levy for the next two years, but not the money targeted for advanced learners. In a letter to Superintendent Harry Amend, Concerned Businesses president John Young expressed concern about the 44 percent increase over the current levy and said levy money was better spent in expanding remediation programs.

As Kootenai County property taxes increase, Concerned Businesses is playing a crucial role in scrutinizing how those dollars are spent. Earlier this year, the business group persuaded the city of Coeur d’Alene to shave money off a successful levy for public safety. However, the opposition by Concerned Businesses to dollars designated for top learners is misplaced. CBNI should join Jobs Plus and the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce in endorsing the entire levy.

During the past 15 years, the Coeur d’Alene School District has been transformed by the passage of bonds and levies from a district where double shifting and classroom trailers were the norm into one dominated by new or renovated schools. In recent years, school patrons overwhelmingly supported construction of a new alternative high school and programs for at-risk children and dropouts. Now, voters have a chance to extend programs for upper-end learners. They should seize the opportunity.

The two-year levy represents an annual increase of $2.24 million over the current one – or an extra $50 per year for a home and property valued at $150,000. Significantly, the long-range planning process, which involved about 1,000 residents and included public forums, listed programs for advanced learners as the district’s top priority, followed by an expansion of remedial programs and finding guaranteed funding for textbooks.

While the remedial programs have flourished, Superintendent Harry Amend told The Spokesman-Review that programs for advanced learners, the approximate 25 percent who fall into the 3.2 to 3.7 grade-point range, haven’t kept pace. The heralded International Baccalaureate program, which focuses on six areas of academic study, would boost the chances of top students getting into a college of choice. Amend calls the program “the gold standard of academic rigor.” At the lower levels, the extra money in the levy would pay to add Spanish classes to the middle schools and 10 new teachers to provide top elementary students with additional reading and math instruction. A simple majority is needed to pass the levy. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at local schools and Kootenai Medical Center Tuesday.