CdA school board names schools that could close if levy doesn’t pass, declares financial emergency

The Coeur d’Alene School Board Friday declared a financial emergency and listed four schools that may have to close if a $25 million levy does not pass next month.

The declaration will allow the school district to sooner notify employees who may lose their jobs if the levy fails, and it will give administration more time to draft the annual budget before June. The declaration is required by Idaho law if the levy fails, Superintendent Shon Hocker said.

Voters will decide whether to approve the two-year levy on May 16. A perpetual version of the same levy failed in March.

If the levy fails, the district will lose 25% of its operating budget and be forced to close one or two schools.

Hocker announced the four elementary schools the district is considering closing: Borah Elementary, Bryan Elementary, Dalton Elementary and Ramsey Elementary.

The motion to declare the emergency, but hold off on notifying employees who may be laid off until after the election, passed 3-2 after two other motions failed.

Hocker said it is important as a professional courtesy to notify employees as soon as possible. Employees cannot be notified until an emergency declaration is made.

Vice Chair Casey Morrisroe argued against notifying employees prematurely because there are still too many uncertainties.

Trustee Lesli Bjerke spoke against declaring the emergency before it was necessary. She said she heard from people in the community who thought it was a scare tactic.

“I think it is akin to bankruptcy and I think it should be used as a very, very last resort,” she said.

The board can simply rescind the emergency declaration if the levy passes, Hocker said.