Coeur d’Alene School District No. 271 is asking for another levy in the amount of $40,000,000 over the next two years. The election is March 12. All taxpayers in District 271 will be required to provide these funds through increased property taxes.

The last levy was $32,000,000 over a similar two-year period. It was interesting that prior to the vote in 2017, there were several flyers mailed out to the district voters. One group was the School District 271 of Coeur d’Alene. The other was a group called Citizens for Coeur d’Alene Public Schools. Curious as to who the Citizens for Coeur d’Alene Public Schools were, I found that the Idaho Secretary of State’s website has them listed as an incorporated business named Citizens for Coeur d’Alene Public Schools, Inc. The three directors are all former employees or relatives of former employees of School District 271.

Sunshine Reports are campaign finance reporting rules. It was important to find out who provided the funding for this expensive school district mailer supporting the levy in 2017. The Kootenai County Elections Office manager said that all lobbyist groups must go through that office and this group did not. They called the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office for more direction. The reply was that school district levies and bonds are EXEMPT from campaign finance reports.

Idahoans are very generous people, but there seems to be a lack of transparency in funding.

There is a vote on March 12. I urge a NO vote.

CRAIG KERWIN

Hayden