Survey says no new taxes

SANDPOINT — Lake Pend Oreille School District is in need of a significant effort to educate voters on the district's current facility problems, according to a survey conducted earlier this month.

Despite serious problems found at many schools by a consultant who assessed the district's facilities a year ago, most people contacted in this month's survey believed the facilities are in good shape.

"The telephone survey was done as part of the community assessment phase of the district's facilities planning process," said Superintendent Mark Berryhill. "Understanding the attitudes and desires of constituents is an important step before asking voters for money to fix up existing schools and possibly build a new school."

Moore Communications of Portland, Ore. was hired through a private donation to LPOSD to conduct the survey. Questions drafted by the district's facilities committee were presented to Bob Moore, who developed the survey based on the questions.

Residents called for the phone survey were registered voters.

Other findings of the survey include:

? Teachers are the most positive attribute of the district.

? Voters are aware of overcrowding in schools.

? Most voters have no complaints about the district.

School board chair Vickie Pfeifer said the board is interested in learning more about citizen attitudes and concerns regarding the schools and district management . She said trustees will be planning other ways of seeking input, as well as informing citizens about the current status of school programs and facilities needs.

Based on the recent survey, the facilities committee will finalize a report to the board that will include recommendations for short- and long-term facilities' needs and a funding mechanism to achieve those goals.

School districts in Idaho are limited in the ways they can upgrade or build new facilities. A plant facilities levy or a school bond are the only methods of obtaining capital to build or renovate old facilities.

Little state support is available and both methods, which require voter approval, would increase local property taxes.