SANDPOINT — The Lake Pend Orielle School District did not violate any state laws in opting to move its alternative high school, Idaho Department of Education officials said in an Aug. 13 review of the district’s plan. 

The statement, issued by IDE chief financial advisor Gideon Tolman, comes after a coalition of community members filed a statutory grievance, alleging the district failed to abide by Idaho Code and demanded the district keep the alternative school at its current campus on N. Boyer Avenue  

The review was held in response to a statutory grievance followed by a citizen coalition claiming the district violated open meeting laws, enacted a reduction in force, and failed to meet alternative school requirements, after the LPOSD school board voted on July 14 to relocate the alternative high school. 

The move will send LPOHS from the old Lincoln School to a site adjacent to Sandpoint Middle School. During the meeting, district officials said the move is a result of reduced funding caused by declining enrollment and the building falling short of many modern standards for accessibility, systems, and functionality. 

The vote left many community members, including teachers, parents, and former students, upset, saying that the school's current location offers a safe environment for students who had negative experiences at Sandpoint High School or require alternative educational avenues. 

While the statement discloses that "the district’s practices comply with current law," it agreed that changes to Idaho Code could provide more clarity to concerns raised in the grievance about public school funding, adding that plans have been made to address those concerns in the upcoming legislative session. 

The statement outlined the department's findings in detail, saying the district’s plan does not violate state law or administrative rules. Among the areas reviewed by state officials were relocation of the alternative high school program, attendance data, and capital projects and administrative costs. 

"Although there may have been different requirements in the past, there is currently no provision in Idaho code or administrative rule requiring alternative learning programs to operate at a separate site,." Tolman said in a report of the state’s findings. 

LPOSD Superintendent Dr. Becky Meyer said she did not tell the public that the relocation had been cleared of all legal concerns by the state before an official statement was released, contrary to a claim made by lead coalition member Jackie Branum that the administration had announced a final clearance to the community without state confirmation during an Aug. 11 school board meeting. 

At an Aug.11 board meeting, Meyer addressed those comments with a presentation of her own research that consisted of a side-by-side comparison of the Idaho Code and the grievance. 

"I took the 40-page grievance and spent countless hours going through and doing all of my own reading," said Meyer. "That's where I found all of the discrepancies and the complete fabrications of law." 

A summary and response to the grievance's primary legal allegations against the district can be found on the Lake Pend Oreille High School’s website.

District officials refuted Branum's claim, urging community members to review the records for themselves. 

"Rather than asking the public to simply take our word for it, we encourage the opposite. Read the original documents. Review the actual Idaho Code. Read IDE's findings. Watch the Board meeting and hear what was said in full. Verify information at its primary source," district officials said. 

Attempts to reach Branum were unsuccessful Friday afternoon. 

Meyer spoke to major community concerns regarding the alternative high school relocation, including bullying and the new location for the campus. 

It is the district's responsibility to address bullying of any kind, said Meyer, adding that the relocation of LPOHS will not increase bullying. 

"It is us addressing the root of the problem when students have an issue with somebody else," said Myer. "Typically, it's increasing awareness for all sides." 

Addressing concerns about the new location of the alternative high school, Meyer said the site is being beautified by student input so it "will be a campus that they can be proud of." 

"They'll be a lot of improvements that are made before LPOHS students step foot on there," said Meyer.