PONDERAY — The Lake Pend Oreille School Board and Superintendent Dr. Becky Meyer committed to keeping the Lake Pend Oreille High School’s land as district property on Tuesday. 

LPOHS has been the hot-button issue at LPOSD board meetings for the last three months following the announcement that the school would be moving from its current building on North Boyer Avenue in 2027. Board Chair Lonnie Williams and Meyer made it clear during Tuesday’s board meeting that the district has no plans to sell the property or close LPOHS. 

“We're not selling the property. It is not going to happen,” Williams said. “It's going to remain school district property, and like I said, we don't know what the use for that will be, but as long as I'm here, that's not going to change.” 

In 2027, LPOHS is set to move to a set of portable classrooms and the former driver’s education building behind Sandpoint Middle School. Meyer said the district is making this move because of declining enrollment at LPOHS, which has led to a shrinking budget for staffing, and the diminishing condition of the building. 

Meyer has continuously said that this move is for the benefit of students, who currently must be bused to Sandpoint High School to take several electives. Once the move takes place, Meyer said students will have access to the full range of electives offered at SHS. 

“The entire reason that this is happening is so that LPOHS students can have electives, which they have a right to have all the electives that other high school students have,” Meyer said. “We have to be able to provide students with equal opportunities. We cannot do that if they have to ride a bus to and from electives every period. It's not possible, and it's not fair.” 

Rand Rosecrans, culinary arts teacher at LPOHS, has spoken at the last three board meetings in opposition to the move. Rosecrans said he understands the issues that the district is facing, including a stagnant budget and decreasing enrollment at LPOHS, but that he believes the current plan of moving LPOHS is a mistake. 

“I'm so grateful for what I've had for the last 10 years, I've had so many lives that I've been able to be a part of, and I think what we do there is important in a way that's different, that's alternative,” Rosecrans said. “I think we need to continue to search. There was a little ray of hope in my heart when I heard we're not closing that because things can change.” 

As a part of the process, Williams said that the district had to have the property appraised. The appraisal report came before the board at the May meeting and values the land at $1.34 million.  

The report, completed by local firm Valbridge Property Advisors, also found that the best use if sold would be residential development because of its location. Following the presentation, Williams reiterated that the appraisal does not mean the property will be sold. 

Currently, Williams said around 50 students are set to attend LPOHS in the upcoming school year, a decline from the 78 enrolled students in 2025. Meyer said the district has not been targeting the alternative school and that schools across the district have seen staffing reductions because of declines in enrollment. 

Williams said the district will continue to advocate for at-risk students, but that the declining enrollment at LPOHS is a success story for the district. 

“The fact is that we have a shrinking population of students at LPOHS, and this is not a statistic that we should be worried about. This is a success story,” Williams said. "We do not want to grow our population of at-risk students. We want to advocate for our at-risk students and provide them with all the opportunities that we can, as we do for all our students.” 

The next meeting of the LPOSD board is scheduled for June 9 at 5 p.m. at the district’s headquarters in Ponderay. The full meeting will be available to view on LPOSD’s website at lposd.org/board-of-trustees/board-meeting-videos.