By Cameron Rasmusson
Reader Staff
Lake Pend Oreille School District officials are seeking public input in the wake of its plant levy’s August failure.
A survey covering the levy election and the quality of LPOSD education will help school officials and appointees refocus their approach to address the problem of deteriorating school facilities. Residents can find the survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/GG8ML8F or by visiting the official LPOSD website, www.lposd.org. It takes an estimated 10 to 15 minutes to complete.
The push for input from locals follows a thorough review process by the plant facilities levy committee, which examined the campaign’s mistakes and strengths leading up to the vote.
“The bottom line is we need to reflect on the result and process,” LPOSD Superintendent Shawn Woodward said following the levy failure.
The survey asks respondents to go into detail about how they voted and why they made their decision. It also attempts to pinpoint weak points in communication over the facts of the levy. Later, the survey goes into detail about specific schools. Lake Pend Oreille High School—a facility many voters thought was ignored in the proposed plant facilities levy project—receives particular attention, with the questionnaire asking which specific improvements locals would like to see.
Voted down with 2,953 in favor and 5,493 opposed in August, the plant facilities levy sought voter approval for a $55 million property tax over six years to reconstruct Sandpoint Middle School, Washington Elementary and Northside Elementary as well as fund improvements to other schools. The election sparked remarkable voter interest for a school levy election, with 50.5 percent of eligible registered voters turning out to the polls. For comparison, a 2013 supplemental levy only attracted a 29.6-percent voter turnout.
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