Tensions are high in the Coeur d’Alene school district, because hundreds of jobs and school programs are tipping over next month’s election results.
There is more tension in the community, because not all sponsors are in favor of increasing their property taxes to get additional school funding.
The district will ask voters on May 16 to approve a $50 million supplemental tax for two years, which will add $10 million to the $40 million in fees approved by voters in both 2019 and 2024.
“They May Ask” comes in the wake of the March elections when Supplementary fees and plant utility fees have been raised by 300 Shy voices to pass. The district asked voters to approve a $25 million tax “permanently,” plus an additional $25 million factory property tax spread over five years.
to me the third time In nine months, the area will be shown Coeur d’Alene voters who have a funding request, but this time the “eternal” language has been removed and the factory utility tax will be excluded from the ballot.
“We tried to listen to our customers, because some of them didn’t like it Eternal piece. Obviously, that’s the main reason we gave it up,” said Sean Hooker, Coeur d’Alene School District Superintendent.
He is “cautiously optimistic” that voters will approve the tax in May, though he admits he won’t sleep much that night because one of Idaho’s largest counties may have to shut down 25% of its operations and that would.“It caused an economic collapse in one of the largest cities in Idaho,” Hooker said.
During a private school board meeting Tuesday, a beneficiary disagreed with Hooker’s assessment.
“This is not the dire situation that the school district claims,” said Randy Neal, a resident of Coeur d’Alene.
Hooker said he will tell more than 300 employees in the district next week that they could lose their jobs if the supplemental tax fails on May 16.
“We want to give a great deal of professional courtesy to these employees so they know that if the tax doesn’t pass, they will lose their position within the district,” Hooker said. “This is hiring season across the country. And we don’t want them to miss this opportunity.”
Hooker said he raised his tax claim by $10 million because of inflation.
Neil told the trustees that inflation is not driving this demand, it is overstaffing. “The school continues to serve just over 10,000 students. So the number of students we serve has not increased but the staff has doubled.”
The list below shows how the district explains that it will allocate funds from the supplemental tax.
According to the region, those Individual discounts You’ll feel it in every corner of the district: librarians, primary and secondary school teachers, security officers, athletic directors, and administrative staff. And While jobs are at risk, the district says it will also have to close elementary schools, drop electives such as music and art, and drop many extracurricular sports.
Should the tax fail, local resident Diana Sheridan suggested the board hire a professional while cutting costs expertise.
“Instead of leaving those decisions to the existing people in the area, who may or may not have the experience of taking a budget and cutting it 10%, 15%, 25%, actually bring in a consulting group that will attend to a more accurate and successful way.”
Hooker said Coeur d’Alene voters have approved smaller supplemental taxes every two years for nearly 40 years, so the failure of this tax in March was tantamount to shock to provincial leaders.
“We have 95% of our employees in the region wondering if they will step back into the pink and have a position next year,” Hooker said. “The tensions are high and the pressures are high.”
Mike Buzga believes a smaller $20 million tax request will pass easily. “It looks like you didn’t heed what the voters said. I doubt there’s anyone in this room who would object to $20 million. The problem is, you asked for too much.”
The school board will hold a special meeting on Friday to make an official financial emergency declaration. If the tax fails, the school board will go into executive session on May 17 and begin work on a reduction in force measures; If it passes, they will rescind the state of financial emergency.
The third iteration of Coeur d’Alene’s supplementary tax
The proposed supplemental tax replaces the current supplemental tax for two years that expire at the end of this academic year. The current tax cost is $76.17 for every $100,000 of the assessed taxable value. If the proposed tax is approved, the tax is expected to increase by $19.04 for every $100,000 of assessed taxable value. The new tax for two years will equate to $95.21 per $100,000. To learn more about how this tax will affect your taxes, use this connection to access the area information page.
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