Post Falls vote on Tuesday

A two-year levy up for a vote in the Post Falls School District should seem familiar; voters have passed similar levies in the district regularly since 1981.

This year’s amount of $2.9 million spread over two years is the highest the school district has sought – a sign of budget constraints the district has confronted for several years.

“We’ve squeezed our belt really tight, and we’re kind of at the end of what we can do,” said Sid Armstrong, the district’s business manager.

The levy is an increase of $1.22 million over the two-year levy that will expire this year. If approved, the money won’t buy anything new. Rather, it will keep the district from continuing to spend its reserves, Armstrong said.

He estimates the district’s reserves to be about $300,000. District policy calls for the fund to equal 3 percent to 5 percent of the district’s general fund, which would put it between $800,000 and $1.3 million.

The district spent about $500,000 in reserves last year. “That tells you we had $500,000 more in expenses than we did in revenue,” Armstrong said. “Basically, we’re just trying to get the two to balance.”

The levy revenue would be spent as follows:

“Textbooks and materials, all grade levels: $620,000

“Facility maintenance: $1.3 million

“Technology maintenance and expansion: $600,000

“Academic remediation: $450,000

Without the proposed levy increase, keeping pace in those four areas would further drain the district’s reserves, Armstrong said.

“The last thing we wanted to do was ask for an increase in the supplemental levy, but if we didn’t we were going to go under,” he said. “We’ve been spending our fund balance down. That has to stop.”

Soaring costs for gasoline, health insurance and other items have eaten into revenue and caused cuts in maintenance workers, travel and training money. Supply budgets for the schools have remained flat.

Health insurance costs alone have doubled in the past five years, Armstrong said. “That kind of speaks loudly as to why we’re in the position that we are,” he said.

Operating costs will rise even more with the completion of eight new classrooms at Post Falls High School this summer and when West Ridge Elementary School opens in fall 2008.

Principals and other school officials pushed for more money for technology, including computers, at an annual workshop where schools pitch financial needs for the coming year and rank their greatest needs. Maintaining school resource officers and fully funding technology needs got the most support.

The state funds technology in schools but at the same level as 1995: $150,000 a year, said Jon Wilkerson, the district’s technology director.

“Back in ‘95, that was a pretty good chunk of money,” he said. “Now, it doesn’t cover 50 percent of the costs.”

The levy needs a simple majority to pass. It would replace one passed in 2005 with 78 percent of the vote.