PRIEST RIVER – After West Bonner County residents voted down two levies in less than a year, the district Board of Trustees is cutting down on services including snow plowing and heating. It may even close more schools.
Trustees met at the Priest River Elementary School library on December 9 to discuss the future of the district in the wake of levy failures earlier this year. The latest levy’s failure in November marked the third time in two years residents have denied supplemental funding to the district, narrowly voting down a one-year, $1.13 million levy.
A supplemental levy is a voter-approved county tax applied to property owners. The money collected from this levy would have paid for the continued maintenance and operations of schools. Voters might have another chance to approve a levy in May, if the board decides to put a new one on the ballot.
Trustees voted unanimously in June to close Priest River Junior High for the 2024-25 school year and consolidate eighth through 12th grade at Priest River Lamanna High School. The board is also considering the possibility of shutting down Idaho Hill Elementary in Oldtown and Priest Lake Elementary, but it’s still just a discussion.
At the December meeting, trustees decided to reduce dumpsters at the junior high down to one and only plow snow when required to comply with federal disability access laws. As another cost saving measure, Operations Director Ryan Carruth said he is monitoring the winter temperatures to keep the building’s boiler at its lowest safe setting. As of now, only sports practices are still held at the school.
Amid the penny-pinching tactics discussed at the meeting, the largest savings centered on moving the district offices from downtown Priest River to the empty junior high. The board voted unanimously in favor of this.
Prior to the vote, trustee Kathy Nash asked that WBCSD Superintendent Kim Spacek and district office staff compile information on how much it would cost to move the district office and how much money it could potentially save the district. Though other trustees wanted to move more quickly.
“If we do this, it’s going to take four to six months to get this accomplished,” trustee Delbert Pound said at the December 9 meeting. “I would like to see us start the process tonight and have Mr. Spacek work through the issues of moving up there and bring recommendations to the board.”
Pound said the urgency in implementing these cuts was crucial to convincing voters to support funding increases in the future.
“If we don’t make this decision tonight, or the next month or the next month after,” he said, “I just don’t think there’s going to be a lot of people in the community that think we’re saving enough money, especially if we go and ask for another levy.”
Board Chair Margaret Hall also wanted to see the numbers, but said she thinks the district should explore more options for the building.
“I think we need to maybe figure out how to start looking at the junior high as a capital funds project and put together those funding mechanisms if we are going to look at potentially using the building in different capacities other than teaching students,” Hall said.
Trustee Paul Turco said he supported moving the district office and that the board needed to consider renting out the current district office site in downtown Priest River, noting that it would be easier to rent or sell that property versus the school.
Of the approximately 80 people who took the district’s website survey on what they would like to see happen to the Priest River Junior High, Hall said most participants said they want to see the building remain open and not sold to a private owner.
While officials are grappling with school closure decisions, the district is set to receive a package of state money for building maintenance. Idaho’s House Bill 521 is issuing $1 billion to districts around the state to repair and replace facilities. West Bonner is allotted to receive $3.87 million, according to Spacek.
But it’s not enough, according to District Operations Director Ryan Carruth. Even with the junior high closed to classes, the district still has four other sites to maintain: Idaho Hill Elementary, Priest River Jr./Sr. Lamanna High, and Priest River and Priest Lake elementary schools. Carruth recommended to the district’s facilities committee in November that money from HB 521 be spent on windows, roofing and plumbing at the high school and Priest River Elementary, and improvements and repairs to the district’s HVAC systems.
The board also decided to create two budgets for the 2024-2025 school year, one reflecting district funds without a levy and the other showing the budget with a levy if the district can pass the supplemental levy in May of next year. The idea of creating two budgets was not originally supported by all of the trustees.
“I know I wasn’t supportive of the idea at our last meeting, but I see the sense in it in showing what we can or won’t have,” Vice Chair Ann Yount said. “I think it’s important that we’re honest and open so that changes will need to be made if certain things don’t happen.”
The $4.6 million one-year levy that the district ran in May was rejected by 54% of voters. The district decided to lower the levy amount in November to $1.13 million for one year. It was again voted down by 52.49% of West Bonner County residents. If approved, the levy would have funded a school resource officer, school-funded sports and extracurricular activities and two new school buses. It would also have helped fund school lunch programs, curriculum purchases and snow removal.
Sophia Mattice-Aldous is a Murrow News fellow working directly with newsrooms at The Newport Miner and RANGE Media through a program administered by Washington State University. Her reporting is available for use via Creative Commons with credit.
