The Coeur d’Alene School Board voted 4-1 in favor of bringing a $35.5 million bond to voters in March.

The bond, which must be paid off within 15 years, needs a 66.66 percent vote in order to pass.

The Coeur d’Alene School District will now be asking local taxpayers for money twice on the March ballot; the $35.5 million bond and the $32 million supplemental levy the board, during its December meeting, decided to run.

Trustee Tambra Pickford made the motion to approve the bond Monday night and Trustee Dave Eubanks seconded the motion. Trustee Tom Hearn and Board Chair Casey Morrisroe chimed in saying this is the right time to run a bond because it won’t raise tax rates, the money would be used for items the district needs, and they believe the community will support it.

Trustee Christa Hazel had the dissenting vote.

“As a parent and a taxpayer and now trustee, and my support for the welfare of this district is unwavering, I do believe there is ground to be pro-education and have questions and concerns,” she said. “At this time I am not willing to tie a supermajority bond to our necessary M&O levy [the supplemental levy]…

“The most important thing is our M&O, as it covers the district as we know it today [levy money makes up about 23 percent of the district’s budget]. If we lose the bond, we must regroup, but we continue as we currently are. But if we lose the M&O, we lose existing staff, we lose support for curriculum, we lose services, we lose support staff, and that in turn not only heavily affects our students but it also affects this economy.”

Hazel told her fellow board members and citizens in attendance to use her opposing vote as a challenge to prove her wrong. After the meeting ended, she told The Press voting against the bond was the hardest decision of her life, but she did what she thought was right and will fully support the board’s decision to run it.

The bond will be used for construction and maintenance projects throughout the district, including upgrades to both high schools, acquiring two plots of land, building one new elementary school on one of those plots, updating and renovating Lakes Magnet Middle School, expanding and upgrading Dalton Elementary School, making the parking lot at Fernan STEM Academy safer and putting in a wood floor at the Hayden Meadows Elementary School gym.

The Coeur d’Alene School District now has to finalize the wording on the ballot and will submit it to the Kootenai County Elections Office. The election will be held Tuesday, March 14.