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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Needs of PF schools presented


School board member Dave Paul, center, attends the Post Falls School District budget workshop last Thursday. 
 (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)

POST FALLS – Something smells at New Vision High School.

Principal Chris Sensel suspects the carpet in one of the classrooms somehow got wet last summer.

“We’ve never been able to get rid of that odor,” Sensel said. Staff at the Post Falls alternative high apparently became accustomed to the stink.

They kind of forgot about it until a visitor mentioned the smell.

“I guess I’ve gotten used to it,” Sensel said.

The principal attended the school district’s annual budget workshop last Thursday to plead for new carpet.

And could the district do something about that one electrical circuit that blows all the time?

And the single-pane windows? Sensel swears he can feel the breeze coming right through the glass.

For the past 15 years, the Post Falls School District has invited representatives from each of the district’s schools and departments to weigh in on the district’s budget. All share their needs and then the collective group – which includes district employees and parents – votes on how to divvy up the district’s money.

Pleas this year ranged from salary increases and additional staff to help reduce class sizes to air-filtration systems and more special education teachers.

After the wants were listed on poster board, each person took three sticky dots up to the front of the room and stuck a dot – one vote per dot – next to the items they considered priorities.

No. 1 this year was salaries, followed by a desire for smaller class sizes and a three-way tie for third: graphing calculators for the high school, more technology staff and additional speech therapists.

Other priorities identified included purchasing math materials for elementary school students, increased funding for the high school music program and more preschool staff.

Fixing that fickle electrical system at New Vision, a building shared by Frederick Post Kindergarten, also made the list. It’s likely most or all of the top vote-getters will be addressed in the district’s budget, Superintendent Jerry Keane said.

“Historically, we’ve been able to accomplish at least the majority of the priorities or the top priorities from year to year,” Keane said.

Several of last year’s priorities were funded, Keane said.

The district added technology support, maintained funding for a school resource officer, put money toward the Alternative to Suspension program and increased the budgets for each school.

“The work we do here really does impact what the budget will look like next year,” Assistant Superintendent Becky Ford said.