Activities fundraiser outperforms education fund as West Bonner School District puts another levy on the ballot

An extracurricular donation fund collected more than four times as much as another fund for general education in West Bonner School District this summer amid a major budget shortfall.

The school board Wednesday approved a pared -down $1.3 million levy for the November ballot, but even if it passes, funds won’t be collected until next summer.

Voters in the district have rejected a $4.7 million levy two years in a row. The second failure this May prompted the school board to close Priest River Junior High and to take the creative approach of launching fundraising campaigns for extracurricular activities and general education to help fill the gaps.

The activities fund, established through an account at  STCU, the credit union headquartered in Liberty Lake, raised $271,000 as of July 29, according to the Spartan Booster Club. Its goal was $150,000.

The education fund, managed by Innovia Foundation, raised about $66,000 as of Wednesday. The goal was $1 million.

Some parents said earlier this summer they were focusing on the activities fund because it had an earlier deadline.

The education fund is based on a long-term $10,000 endowment seeded by an initial donation. Money raised beyond that can be earmarked for immediate use – so $56,000 is available.

Superintendent Kim Spacek said the board will decide how to spend the money from a list of priorities including curriculum, a school resource officer, two buses, nine staff positions, technology and facility maintenance. The levy would cover some of those priorities as well as extracurriculars for the following school year.

The next goal is to raise $200,000 in 30 days, said Special Education Director Kristina Kenny, who leads the district’s fundraising and grants committee. Organizers are planning two or three fundraising events later this fall, including a cornhole tournament and silent auction. Donations can also be made through Innovia’s website.

The activities fund will help pay for junior and senior high school sports, and extracurriculars like music, drama, yearbook, leadership and honor society.

Remaining costs will be covered through player fees and higher ticket prices, Spacek said.

Although the education fund can continue to raise money throughout the school year, the activities fund is closed.

The booster club will continue its ordinary fundraising, however, to support student scholarships and equipment for those who can’t afford it. Individual teams also still need to do their normal fundraisers to offset costs as they have in the past.

The activities fund had several large matching pledges, including $75,000 from an anonymous donor, $50,000 from the nonprofit Priest River Development Corp. and $50,000 from Priest Lake Marine and Motorsports.

“What the booster club did this year is not a sustainable business plan going forward,” Kendra Salesky, a longtime booster club member, told the school board during public comment Wednesday. She thanked the community for their support and spoke of the importance of extracurriculars for mental health.

Earlier in the meeting the board debated putting another levy to voters.

Trustee Kathy Nash, who has opposed levies since she ran for the position last year, said the community would be more likely to approve a levy next May. She said running another one so soon will further divide the community.

“To put a levy on in November tells the public that we’re not listening,” Nash said.

Nash said the district needs to show more improvement before the community will support it.

“I do want to recognize that this is the most fiscally responsible request that this district has put out in at least 10 years,” Nash said.

Trustee Paul Turco said he believes they are listening to the community because they are reducing the levy by 75%.

Chair Margaret Hall said she is concerned May will be too late to budget for the following school year and that parents are beginning to leave for other districts, which will make the funding problem worse.

Spacek said the district needs to invest money to make any improvement.

“It hurts because people don’t want to be taxed,” he said. “However, the method to get kids back, the method to bring programs in that people want to see is we have to spend money somehow.”

The levy would be an estimated $23 per $100,000 of taxable property value. The board voted 3-1 to approve the levy measure, with Nash voting against.