Sandpoint levy back on ballot
SANDPOINT – If at first you don’t succeed, try again.
That is just what proponents of a plant facilities levy in Lake Pend Oreille School District in Sandpoint are doing. Two years ago they brought the $14 million proposal before the voters, but it failed.
“When it was first brought up in September of 2006 we were coming off the tails of the Legislature moving funding for schools from property taxes to sales tax,” said Doug Olin, assistant administrator for Lake Pend Oreille School District. “There was a lot of confusion then.”
Lake Pend Oreille School Superintendent Dick Cvitanich agrees, and said that this time around voters will be more aware of the financial impact the levy will have on their taxes.
For the owner of a home with a net taxable value of $100,000, for example, the increase would be $129 in the first year and $123 the second year. Net taxable value is the value after deducting the homeowner’s exemption of $100,938 for 2008.
“There is not all the uncertainty as to what the tax structure will look like (like there was in 2006),” said Cvitanich.
Cvitanich began his tenure as superintendent almost three years ago. He said has encountered a great deal of opposition to not only the district, but also to the citizens who are trying to educate the community on the needs that the levy will address. Cvitanich said he is not sure from where the animosity comes, and finds the feeling of mistrust to be unsettling.
“We’re proposing something that is good for kids and is for their health and safety,” said Cvitanich. He noted that the 10-year average for construction levy rates for Idaho is $159. “For Lake Pend Oreille School District it is zero.”
Approximately $6.7 million of the proposed levy would be used to complete construction of Kootenai Elementary School, alleviating overcrowding at Farmin Stidwell and Washington elementary schools. Because of population growth south of the Long Bridge, there also is $1.2 million earmarked for expansion of Sagle Elementary School. Another $2.6 million will be used to address health and safety issues, as well as deferred maintenance at all the schools in the district, with almost $2.5 million earmarked for districtwide improvements.
With the cost of building materials on the rise, the levy has a $1 million construction inflation contingency built in.
Between now and May 20, the day the voters go to the polls, levy supporters are determined to do what they can to educate the community on the needs of the district and just how much of an economic impact it will have.
Sandpoint resident Wendy Dunn, chairman of the Citizens for Better Schools, said the extensive wear and tear on the schools must be dealt with immediately.
“What would happen if you did nothing to your house for 25 years,” said Dunn, referring to the fact the last time there was a plant facilities levy was in the 1980s. “There is a big difference between mopping a floor and replacing it.”
An advisory committee was commissioned by the board of trustees to investigate and report on the most immediate needs of each school. Dunn said the committee did what it could to minimize the costs and included only those repairs and improvements that could not wait any longer.
“To whittle it down any further would be irresponsible,” said Dunn.
Dunn said that while the schools may look OK from the outside, there are structural and safety issues that must be fixed. Educating the community on those issues she says is the key to getting the levy passed – something that will require 55 percent plus one vote in favor.
“Hopefully people will be willing to come to the schools (and see the condition for themselves),” said Dunn, who adds that unlike the state of Washington, Idaho does not provide any funds to the school districts for capital improvements. A levy is the only way to raise the funds.
But even if people do see the needs, Dunn said there are those who will vote against the levy no matter what.
“We know there’s probably about 30 percent of people who will vote ‘no’ regardless,” said Dunn.
But it is those who are on the fence that Dunn and her committee members hope to reach.
“It’s a pretty eclectic community,” said school board member Steve Youngdahl. “It always comes down to communication, which of course requires a receptive audience.”
And when the audience is as diverse as the town of Sandpoint, finding a receptive audience may not always be easy. Many residents spend the winter in warmer climates and will arrive home shortly before the vote takes place, missing the chance to learn more about the proposed levy. And then there are part-time residents of Sandpoint who do not count this area as their primary residence, thereby not being allowed to cast a vote.
Conrad and Barbara Feller fall into the latter category. They have grandchildren in the Lake Pend Oreille School District but only live in Sandpoint about four months of the year. The Fellers have lived in several communities throughout the country and said that they have never seen a district have as many problems passing levies as Sandpoint.
“The Moscow School District has no problem getting levies passed because the community is strongly focused on providing their children with a good education,” said Conrad Feller, who added that he believes that may have a lot to do with the influence of the University of Idaho.
He also said that property taxes in Sandpoint are far less than where he has his primary residence, which is Texas. He encourages voters to look at the levy not as a tax, but an investment in students and in the future of the community.
But come May 20, the Fellers and many others who are part-time residents will have to leave the fate of their grandchildren’s education and its facilities in the hands of the full-time residents.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 14 percent of Bonner County residents are 65 years or older, a full 4 percentage points higher than that of Ada County in Southern Idaho. Yet the median value of owner occupied homes in Bonner County is almost $20,000 more than the average value throughout Idaho. And with higher values usually come higher taxes.
For retired seniors, a raise in taxes can be a scary proposition. Especially in a town that recently fought against a significant increase in their assessed values of their homes.
In fact in 2006 after receiving their tax assessment notice, approximately 2,700 property owners filed appeals with the Bonner County Board of Equalization. So when people hear that with the levy there will be a raise in taxes, they do not research to see what the exact amount may be. Their minds are already made up.
“There are always people who are antitax,” said Dunn.
But in the end proponents of the levy hope that people will take a long hard look at the issues, research the actual tax implications and make an educated decision. Hopefully then, says Dunn, people will see that the voters cannot afford to not pass the levy.
“There’s a level of responsibility that comes with being a citizen,” said Dunn. “We need to educate our children.”