Kila bond request heads to voters

The Daily Inter Lake

One dollar a day.

That's what Kila School is asking voters for in a bond election this month: To set aside four quarters each day for the school.

That number is based on the impact that $2.1 million in bonds will have on a home with a taxable market value of $198,000. Taxes on that home would go up by about $363 a year.

Kila Principal Renee Boisseau considers that money an investment in the school - which, she said, is a safer investment than many others in the current economic climate.

"Three hundred [dollars' a year - and I can guarantee it will be worth that or more" in the future, she said.

The district will mail 989 ballots to its registered voters today, District Clerk Sharon Leach said. The ballots are due back at the school June 2.

It's the first time the district has tried a mail-in ballot, Boisseau said. A mail election will give everyone in the district the opportunity to vote; some voters live as far away as Niarada, Leach said, but pay taxes in the Kila district.

School officials also opted for a mail election because a simple majority will decide the issue, and because there are no minimum voter turnout requirements.

Standard bond elections require a 30 percent minimum voter turnout. Passing a bond request with 30 percent to 39 percent turnout requires a 60 percent majority. If turnout is less than 30 percent, the election is rejected.

If voter turnout in a standard election is at least 40 percent, a simple majority decides the bond issue. But turnouts for school elections in Kila typically are about 20 to 30 percent, Leach said.

Other districts, including Evergreen, have successfully passed bond requests with mail elections, Boisseau said.

If voters approve Kila's request, the money will be used for an 11,423-square-foot expansion.

Kila currently has 152 students in grades K-8.

Plans include two new classrooms, a science lab, a new library, a new kitchen, and a multipurpose room, which will alleviate some demand on the gym. Currently the gym houses the cafeteria, health and physical education classes, the after-school latch-key program and, on snowy or rainy days, more than 100 students who can't play outside at recess.

Plans also include remodeling office space to create a sick room for students - instead of putting them in the already crowded front office - and creating separate space for a school counselor and the special education and Title I programs.

If voters approve the bond request, annual property taxes will go up by about $181 on a home with a $99,000 taxable market value - nearly half of Boisseau's projection of a dollar a day.

The district has tried to emphasize that while the recession has forced many families to tighten their proverbial belts, it has also driven down the costs of labor and building materials. Prices are lower than they were two years ago when Kila asked voters to approve a $147,500 building reserve levy. The answer then was a resounding no; more than two-thirds of voters opposed it.

Some people have said that this is poor time to ask for money because people are struggling, Boisseau said.

"Our answer again is, when is a good time? We have asked for building reserve levies in good times, and people have not passed those," she said.

The district could ask in two years, but there's no guarantee that voters would approve a bond request then. And the need is now, not two years out, Boisseau said.

"Some people have asked, 'What is Plan B?' And I tell them, 'This is Plan B. We have been operating on Plan A for a long time,'" she said.

Plan A has been to stick kids wherever the school can find the room, Boisseau explained. This has meant students doubling up on computers in the tiny computer lab, and cramming 25 kindergartners into a classroom when state accreditation standards call for no more than 20 in a room.

"If [the bond request] shouldn't pass, I guess I have to reorganize and again take a look at where we can Band-Aid," Boisseau said. But "we're looking at long-term fixes, not a Band-Aid."

Some community members have asked if Kila could combine with the Marion and Smith Valley school districts in one new school.

"Consolidation is not an option at this time," Boisseau said.

A new school large enough for students from all three districts would cost much more than $2.1 million, she said.

"It's not a practical answer to it," Boisseau said.

Asking for a property tax raise is a practical solution, she said. People could pay for it by sticking a dollar in a jar each day.

"For many people, it will be less than that," she said. "We're asking for a dollar a day for our kids."

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com