COEUR d'ALENE - School officials in Coeur d'Alene are anticipating an influx of newly enrolled students when school starts again next week.

Preliminary numbers show a district-wide spike of at least 200 children over last year's enrollment.

"We're looking at a steady increase across all the elementary schools, with stronger peaks at the northern schools," said district spokeswoman Laura Rumpler.

The middle schools and high schools will have more students attending as well.

There will be 20 more students at Lake City High and 23 more kids at Coeur d'Alene High School this year.

"We're seeing new growth that we haven't seen in the last several years," Rumpler said.

The school district's enrollment declined in 2010 and 2011.

Rumpler said school officials have been focused on how to support the new students, and haven't yet analyzed the reason for the enrollment jump.

She said central office administrators have heard from elementary school office staff that there seem to be more families moving into the district from outside the area.

During the first week of school last year, student attendance numbers jumped by 60 students over the previous year's attendance.

This year's higher enrollment could translate into a significant amount of revenue for the district.

Idaho law allows boards in growing school districts to seek emergency local property tax levies, without voter approval, to cover the cost of educating additional, un-budgeted-for students.

Districts review their students' average daily attendance for the first three days of school to determine if their district is eligible for the emergency tax dollars, and they are required to submit emergency levy requests to their county's board of commissioners before the second Monday in September.

"Ultimately, with an emergency levy, the board has to weigh the benefits, and it's not an easy decision. They have to decide if they're going to tell taxpayers we need this money," said Superintendent Matt Handelman.

A year ago, the 60-student jump in the number of kids in district classrooms made the district eligible for an emergency levy of $260,579.

Not wanting to risk voter rejection of a critical, multi-million dollar supplemental maintenance and operations levy later in the school year, the trustees on the board at that time took the suggestion of then Superintendent Hazel Bauman and declined to seek the additional property tax relief. Last March, voters approved a two-year levy of $14.3 million the first year, and $12.9 million the second year.

The last time the Coeur d'Alene school board decided to certify an emergency levy was at the start of the 2009 school year. That year's increase of 74 students brought $375,000 into the district and cost the owner of $250,000 in taxable assessed property about $11 per year.

With at least 200 more prospective students this year, the district will likely qualify for a significantly higher emergency levy.

The trustees have a tentative special meeting planned for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. to review the situation and decide whether to seek the extra tax dollars.