August 26, 2005

Letter to the Editor:

At a special school board meeting on Monday, August 22, 2005, the board delayed the voting on the bond issue. The school board will set the date for the bond issue election later. The reasons why the board made the decision to delay the bond issue are:

• The General Fund budget, which was approved this year, was short about $400,000. The board made the decision not to make any more cuts. They have been making cuts the past four years and there was nothing left to cut except teaching supplies, textbooks, and activities. They used the surplus in the forest funds to balance the budget. Next year we will have to raise the override by at least $400,000 unless something changes at the state level.
• The state of Idaho has continually, in the past five years, not funded public education properly. In 1995 school districts were allowed to use a .004 percent levy against property. In 1995, the legislature gave a .001 percent property tax relief to all in the state of Idaho. Now we can levy .003. The state of Idaho funded the .001 differences until last year. The legislature capped the amount they will pay at 75 million dollars. As property evaluation rises, we will continue to receive less from the state of Idaho. Although property tax relief was given in 1995, the tax payers are paying more now than in 1995 in property taxes. The state of Idaho having not funded public education properly, has forced school districts to ask the property owners for more taxes. The School Board has done all it can to hold down expenditures and property taxes. After five years of continuous cuts, we cannot do it any longer. We will have to ask for additional money in 2006.
  • State of Idaho support
  • 2001-02B$5,704,164
  • 2002-03B$5,592,542
  • 2003-04B$5,793,918
  • 2004-05B$5,622,715
  • 2005-06B$5,518,806 estimated
  • As you look at the amounts above, you can see that we have received very small increases or no increases in the past five years. Our expenses continue to increase. The cost of running the school district continues to go up each year. Yet, the number of students has remained approximately the same over this period. This is why we have been cutting for the past five years.
• The Craig-Wyden bill, which is a federal bill, gives School District #171 $300,000 per year. This is the last year for this bill. At this time we do not know if the bill will be renewed.
• The lawsuit filed by the school districts against the state of Idaho should be resolved this year. This lawsuit is 12 years old. School districts in Idaho sued the state of Idaho because they believed the state was not funding education properly. The outcome of this suit can only help school districts and possibly the issue with school building needs.
• The one per cent initiative may get on the ballot. If this is approved, it will curtail the amount we can levy on property taxes.
• Our enrollment in kindergarten for the past two years has been lower. In both years we have approximately 55 students per grade. This is down approximately 20 students from the past kindergarten classes. If these numbers continue, would a k-8 and 9-12 configuration be better than a k-5, 6-8, and 9-12 or a k-6, 7-12 combination?
• Another factor that is affecting us is the No Child Left Behind Act. We continue to have more requirements placed on us from the federal and state government and they are not funding the full cost of these requirements.