Lakeland levy passes easily

RATHDRUM – Lakeland School District voters have been so consistent in supporting tax measures that school officials have a hard time remembering when one last failed.

Once again, voters came through for the district, which serves about 4,500 students in northern Kootenai County.

A $3.9 million, two-year supplemental levy passed Tuesday with 75 percent of 848 votes. A simple majority was needed.

“Anything one (vote) over 50 percent is good,” said Superintendent Chuck Kinsey. “We’re satisfied with that, no question.”

The district will collect more than $1.9 million a year, accounting for 8 percent of its budget.

Though the district hadn’t announced what cuts would have been made if the levy failed, Assistant Superintendent Brad Murray said they would have been “severe and significant.”

Because most of the district’s budget goes to payroll, several staff positions could have been eliminated, he said. Other across-the-board cuts would have been likely.

Lakeland voters had not been asked to approve a supplemental levy since 2003 and the district was only one of two school districts in the state that was operating without a supplemental levy.

With less population growth in the district and fewer new students, the district’s fund balance – or cash on hand at the end of the school year – was being depleted, business manager Tom Taggart said.

Without passage of the levy, district officials were predicting a shortfall of $1.7 million to $1.9 million. The levy funds could allow the district to maintain its current spending, but not add or expand programs, Murray said.