CdA schools face money crunch

Coeur d’Alene School District officials thought they were being “conservative” when they projected a 3 percent increase in enrollment this school year.

It turns out the crystal ball was a little clouded.

After years of steady growth – as high as 4 percent the previous year – Coeur d’Alene only saw a 1½ percent increase in a year when the budget was based on 3 percent growth. Much of the district’s state funding is based on average daily attendance.

Superintendent Harry Amend said Monday evening that the district’s budget woes could get worse. Enrollment for the coming school year is projected to decline by 2½ percent.

Already the district has cut the budget for each building’s by 12 percent, eliminated overtime and reduced travel, and officials are keeping close tabs on discretionary spending.

In addition, the district is considering cuts in other areas and doesn’t plan to fill many positions when employees retire or leave the district. Business Manager Steve Briggs said the district has not determined where additional cuts will be made.

Less than two years ago, the district was scrambling to find land for another elementary school to handle the flood of new students coming into the area.

Voters this spring were asked for nearly $40 million to build the elementary school, replace Lakes Middle School and Winton Elementary, and remodel another elementary school. The levy failed, with 55 percent of voters saying no.

Amend said he believes increasing home prices in the Coeur d’Alene district likely slowed enrollment in the district. He said the average starting price for homes in the district is $220,000 – much more than in neighboring districts where enrollment continues to rise.

“I don’t think anybody would believe we’d have this much change in this short amount of time,” Briggs said.