Voters in the Plummer-Worley School District will be asked if they're willing to provide an additional $1.1 million in local property taxes to support the school district's operations over the course of the next two years.

Trustees voted Wednesday to place a $550,000 per year two-year supplemental levy proposal on the May 21 election ballot.

It will be the first time since the early '90s that the district, with a property tax base that includes parts of Benewah and Kootenai counties, has asked voters to consider providing additional local property tax dollars for the maintenance and operation of the district.

"The Plummer Worley School Board is committed 100 percent to providing a comprehensive educational program for all children," wrote Superintendent Judi Sharrett, in a letter sent Thursday to community members. "However, since 2007, the district has lost over $1.3 million in staffing alone, and the struggle to keep basic programming in place gets tougher each year."

The levy funds would fill an ongoing deficit the district faces due to the sharp decline in state and federal funding, an increase in the cost of employee health insurance, and a reduction in federal funds due to sequestration, the automatic budget cuts that began on March 1.

"The federal sequester is hitting us hard because the district is 36 percent federally funded," Sharrett wrote. "Most districts are only 10 to 20 percent federally funded."

The supplemental levy, if passed by voters, would pay for existing programs and high school classes the district will likely need to eliminate due to the loss of revenue.

"On top of that, it would save our all-day kindergarten program," Sharrett wrote.

The estimated annual cost of the levy to property owners, based on September 2012 property values, will be $116 per $100,000 of taxable assessed property value, regardless of which county a property owner resides in.

Sequestration will affect Plummer-Worley schools harder than most because the district relies heavily on federal Impact Aid, which helps fund school districts nationwide that are on Indian reservations, military bases and other federal entities. Impact Aid provides revenue for districts where the presence of federal agencies affects their ability to rely on property taxes as a source of revenue.

"Fortunately, the Coeur d'Alene Tribe has donated $100,000 which will pay for a music program as well as cover some technology and athletic transportation expenses," Sharrett wrote. "The Tribe also generously donated $25,000 to our golf program."