You can vote absentee on KTEC now
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 14 years, 5 months AGO
|
July 28, 2010 8:24 AM
Voters in the three school districts may go to their respective district offices to vote absentee. Here are the three office locations, followed by a recent Business Journal story written by Lucy Dukes. - Mike Patrick
Post Falls School Dist.
206 W Mullan Ave.
Post Falls, ID 83854
Coeur d'Alene School Dist.
311 N 10th Ave.
Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814
Rathdrum School Dist.
15506 N Washington St.
Rathdrum, ID 83858
By LUCY DUKES
NIBJ writer
The countdown is on for elections in three school districts for levies designed to finance a professional-technical school for high school students in the region.
If the Aug. 24 levies pass with 55 percent vote in the Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Lakeland school districts, the $9.5 million, 50,000-square-foot school would be expected to open in 2013 with 180 students and offer classes in health occupations, welding, construction and automotive training. The course categories were selected based upon what businesses said they needed, interest expressed by students, and upon budget projections, according to Craig Wilcox, a spokesman for the Kootenai Technical Education Campus Committee.
The goal in building the facility is to take back the jobs “given” to China and India, said Ron Nilson, vice chairman of the KTEC Committee, during a recent planning meeting.
“This is going to be unbelievable. No stopping us once we get this levy passed,” he said.
The Coeur d’Alene School District is putting to vote a levy for $2,683,846 per year for two years; the Lakeland School District is asking for $940,900 per year for two years; and the proposed Post Falls School District levy is $1,125,254 per year for two years. Full passage requires 55 percent voter approval in each district.
The levy money would pay for the construction of the school building and for in-ground infrastructure.
“If Coeur d’Alene fails, we’re dead in the water. If Coeur d’Alene passes and at least one of the others passes, we will build what we have the budget for,” Wilcox said.
Students from all three districts would be able to use it, but those from the district that didn’t approve a levy would probably have to pay a fee to attend and would have to provide their own transportation, Wilcox said.
If the levy is approved, the projected tax rate in Coeur d’Alene would be an additional 29 cents per $1,000 of taxable property assessed. The owner of a $150,000 home in the district, after taking a 50 percent homeowners exemption, would see a $22 increase on his or her tax bill.
Post Falls’ rate is projected at 40 cents per $1,000 of taxable property, and $30 per year for the next two years after the homeowner’s exemption. Passage would not result in higher tax bills, however, because of other property taxes being retired and coming off the rolls. If the levy fails, the property tax bill for the owner of a $150,000 home in Post Falls would decrease by $30 per year.
Lakeland homeowners would see an increase of 37 cents per $1,000 of taxable property, for a tax bill on a $150,000 home increased by $27.75 after the exemption.
The money raised by the levy will not likely have to fund the purchase of equipment, which the business community is securing for the school. So far there is an agreement formed with CAT, GM, and Miller Welding Equipment to donate after the school has been built. It is still early in the process, Wilcox said. Equipment upgrades to keep up with changing technology would likely fall to businesses as well.
“I think that the manufacturing community would continue to ask their suppliers to update equipment,” said KTEC Committee Chairman Paul Anderson.
The business community would also take an active role in determining the direction of the school.
The school would be governed by an executive board of the three school district superintendents and two business owners. An advisory board of 14 business owners would make ground-level decisions.
State funding would cover operating costs. The state gives $90,000 per “unit” of 12 students in qualifying technical education programs. The number of units is determined by average daily attendance of students. A “regular” unit is 18 1/2 students, so operating the professional technical programs will result in the school districts getting more money from the state.
So far, funding has come from the business community. The Meyer family donated 10 acres of land for the project and sold the other 10 acres to the KTEC committee for $275,000. The committee closed on the property in January, using donations from private industries and individuals to fund the purchase.
If the school needs to be expanded, another levy would have to passed, according to Wilcox.
It could happen.
“Everything we hear and feel at this point is, we’ve got to be looking at phase two,” Nilson said.
Whether or not the jointly funded professional-technical high school expands, it could be just the beginning of educational offerings on the Rathdrum Prairie.
The Lakeland School District owns 40 adjacent acres, which it plans to use for a high school in the future, and North Idaho College owns 40 acres, on which it plans to build its own professional-technical facility.
Classes would be compatible with those offered at the high school, said John Martin, NIC vice president of public relations and marketing.
The college has requested funding to build the facility, which is expected to cost in the neighborhood of $20 million. The project, of course, would have to compete with other NIC projects in the works, Martin said.
“We are confident it will all come together in the end,” he said.
Supporters of the school say that the KTEC proposal is a crucial opportunity to provide the community with the workforce preparation it needs. In addition, it would make education seem more relevant to youth who are not necessarily college bound — those who would benefit from being qualified to go directly into the workforce.
It will allow students to “own the options,” said Eve Knudtsen, owner of Knudtsen Chevrolet.
She said she would be excited about KTEC even if automotive wasn’t a part of the planned offerings.
“I just love it. I love the whole concept,” she said.
Some students are ready to go to college, some would make the decision after getting professional-technical education, and others might decide to go a few years down the road, she said.
“And what about the students that may be making the decision not to complete high school because it seems so disconnected?” Knudtsen added.
The key to getting the facility built and all that accomplished, however, is getting people out to vote to pass the levy, proponents and officials concluded when they met earlier in July.
“A lot of people will smile and nod and think KTEC is the best thing since sliced bread, but will they get out and vote?” said Coeur d’Alene School District Superintendent Hazel Bauman.
NIBJ writer
The countdown is on for elections in three school districts for levies designed to finance a professional-technical school for high school students in the region.
If the Aug. 24 levies pass with 55 percent vote in the Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Lakeland school districts, the $9.5 million, 50,000-square-foot school would be expected to open in 2013 with 180 students and offer classes in health occupations, welding, construction and automotive training. The course categories were selected based upon what businesses said they needed, interest expressed by students, and upon budget projections, according to Craig Wilcox, a spokesman for the Kootenai Technical Education Campus Committee.
The goal in building the facility is to take back the jobs “given” to China and India, said Ron Nilson, vice chairman of the KTEC Committee, during a recent planning meeting.
“This is going to be unbelievable. No stopping us once we get this levy passed,” he said.
The Coeur d’Alene School District is putting to vote a levy for $2,683,846 per year for two years; the Lakeland School District is asking for $940,900 per year for two years; and the proposed Post Falls School District levy is $1,125,254 per year for two years. Full passage requires 55 percent voter approval in each district.
The levy money would pay for the construction of the school building and for in-ground infrastructure.
“If Coeur d’Alene fails, we’re dead in the water. If Coeur d’Alene passes and at least one of the others passes, we will build what we have the budget for,” Wilcox said.
Students from all three districts would be able to use it, but those from the district that didn’t approve a levy would probably have to pay a fee to attend and would have to provide their own transportation, Wilcox said.
If the levy is approved, the projected tax rate in Coeur d’Alene would be an additional 29 cents per $1,000 of taxable property assessed. The owner of a $150,000 home in the district, after taking a 50 percent homeowners exemption, would see a $22 increase on his or her tax bill.
Post Falls’ rate is projected at 40 cents per $1,000 of taxable property, and $30 per year for the next two years after the homeowner’s exemption. Passage would not result in higher tax bills, however, because of other property taxes being retired and coming off the rolls. If the levy fails, the property tax bill for the owner of a $150,000 home in Post Falls would decrease by $30 per year.
Lakeland homeowners would see an increase of 37 cents per $1,000 of taxable property, for a tax bill on a $150,000 home increased by $27.75 after the exemption.
The money raised by the levy will not likely have to fund the purchase of equipment, which the business community is securing for the school. So far there is an agreement formed with CAT, GM, and Miller Welding Equipment to donate after the school has been built. It is still early in the process, Wilcox said. Equipment upgrades to keep up with changing technology would likely fall to businesses as well.
“I think that the manufacturing community would continue to ask their suppliers to update equipment,” said KTEC Committee Chairman Paul Anderson.
The business community would also take an active role in determining the direction of the school.
The school would be governed by an executive board of the three school district superintendents and two business owners. An advisory board of 14 business owners would make ground-level decisions.
State funding would cover operating costs. The state gives $90,000 per “unit” of 12 students in qualifying technical education programs. The number of units is determined by average daily attendance of students. A “regular” unit is 18 1/2 students, so operating the professional technical programs will result in the school districts getting more money from the state.
So far, funding has come from the business community. The Meyer family donated 10 acres of land for the project and sold the other 10 acres to the KTEC committee for $275,000. The committee closed on the property in January, using donations from private industries and individuals to fund the purchase.
If the school needs to be expanded, another levy would have to passed, according to Wilcox.
It could happen.
“Everything we hear and feel at this point is, we’ve got to be looking at phase two,” Nilson said.
Whether or not the jointly funded professional-technical high school expands, it could be just the beginning of educational offerings on the Rathdrum Prairie.
The Lakeland School District owns 40 adjacent acres, which it plans to use for a high school in the future, and North Idaho College owns 40 acres, on which it plans to build its own professional-technical facility.
Classes would be compatible with those offered at the high school, said John Martin, NIC vice president of public relations and marketing.
The college has requested funding to build the facility, which is expected to cost in the neighborhood of $20 million. The project, of course, would have to compete with other NIC projects in the works, Martin said.
“We are confident it will all come together in the end,” he said.
Supporters of the school say that the KTEC proposal is a crucial opportunity to provide the community with the workforce preparation it needs. In addition, it would make education seem more relevant to youth who are not necessarily college bound — those who would benefit from being qualified to go directly into the workforce.
It will allow students to “own the options,” said Eve Knudtsen, owner of Knudtsen Chevrolet.
She said she would be excited about KTEC even if automotive wasn’t a part of the planned offerings.
“I just love it. I love the whole concept,” she said.
Some students are ready to go to college, some would make the decision after getting professional-technical education, and others might decide to go a few years down the road, she said.
“And what about the students that may be making the decision not to complete high school because it seems so disconnected?” Knudtsen added.
The key to getting the facility built and all that accomplished, however, is getting people out to vote to pass the levy, proponents and officials concluded when they met earlier in July.
“A lot of people will smile and nod and think KTEC is the best thing since sliced bread, but will they get out and vote?” said Coeur d’Alene School District Superintendent Hazel Bauman.