Kootenai and Plummer-Worley school district voters approved supplemental levy requests by wide margins on Tuesday.

Of the Kootenai County voters who voted on the Kootenai levy, 150 (76.5 percent) voted for the proposal of $750,000 per year for two years while 46 were against. The district had not received results from its voters in Benewah County as of deadline, but the numbers weren't expected to change the overall outcome.

Kootenai Superintendent Lynette Ferguson thanked voters for their support.

"Your positive votes demonstrate the best reasons to live in Kootenai Joint School district," she said in a written statement.

"The school board and administration recognizes that voting to approve levies is not an automatic action and that our voters have agreed to these taxes with the expectation that the money will be well and carefully spent and we will continuously strive to meet that expectation."

Meanwhile, with the Plummer-Worley levy of $550,000 per year for two years, 86 (72.9 percent) voted in favor and 32 were against.

"It's a huge relief," Superintendent Judi Sharrett said. "We're proud of our public coming forward to support education. Everybody wins."

A simple majority vote (50 percent plus one) was needed for the proposals to pass.

With supplemental levies, school districts can ask voters to supplement the basic budget revenue they receive from the state by asking voters to approve an additional amount. Districts use such funds for day-to-day operations such as updating curricular materials and textbooks, technology and other purposes.

Kootenai's levy will replace an existing levy of $900,000 a year and not increase current taxes.

The owner of a $200,000 home with a homeowners' exemption will pay $13.44 per month for the levy.

The funds will not pay for any new programs. The money will pay for building maintenance, technology, extra-curricular activities, curriculum updates, staff retention, transportation and full-time kindergarten.

Ferguson said the money supports basic education needs no longer supported by state and federal funding.

She said the board's goal is to only collect for what is needed for operations, maintenance, safety, sustaining the quality of programs and personnel.

"The board has voted to certify less taxes in the second year of the last two two-year levies, reducing the total amount collected by $550,000 by prioritizing and completing essential projects and programs and seeking grants whenever possible," Ferguson said. "We will continue this practice."

Plummer-Worley's levy amount of $550,000 is the same as its current levy.

Even with the levy passing, taxes will decrease in the district. The 2015 levy cost $1.12 per $1,000 of assessed value, while Tuesday's levy will cost $1.07.

The owner of a $150,000 home with a homeowners' exemption will pay $6.69 per month.

The funds will help pay for full-time kindergarten, athletics, elective classes, smaller class sizes and maintaining STEM programs.

The levy will represent 12.8 percent of the district's General Fund budget.

"You always have a little anxiety (on voting day) when supplemental levies mean so much to the budget," Sharrett said.

The first time Plummer-Worley proposed a supplemental levy, in 2013, it failed. However, it passed later that year and another one did in 2015.