LPOSD details plant facilities levy

SANDPOINT — Some of the schools in the Lake Pend Oreille School District have not been updated since the 1950s, creating many problems for students, staff and maintenance workers.

Shawn Woodward, district superintendent, said a lot of time and effort has gone into academics and not enough attention has been paid to the facilities at the schools. He said seven of the 11 schools in the district were rated either “poor” or “unsatisfactory” by an outside consulting firm.

“It’s time for us to give our facilities much needed attention because it does impact student learning,” Woodward said.

The district's Board of Trustees will ask voters on Aug. 30 to approve a plant facilities levy to rebuild three of the schools, along with district-wide maintenance and upgrades.

The board is seeking a $55.1 million levy spread out over six years, which is estimated to cost $200 per year for taxpayers with a home valued at $200,000.

Taxpayers are currently paying on a two-year supplemental levy, which residents with a home valued at $200,000 pay an estimated $184 per year. That levy will expire in June 2017. Matt Diel, LPOSD facilities director, said the supplemental levy covers one-third of the district's funding for operation costs and emphasized the proposed levy is for upgrades, remodels and renovations only.

"All of the funds have to be used for construction," Diel said, adding that the funds can not be used for salaries or any other operation costs.

Kendon Perry, a financial advisor for Farm Bureau Insurance serving on the Facilities Planning Committee made up of stakeholders from the community, has two children who attended school in the district and is concerned with the condition of the schools. In the last 65 years, two plant facility levies and one bond have passed. The bond was the first to pass in 1951 and the last significant plant facility levy passed in 1984 with a five-year span. The most recent was a two-year plant facility levy in 2008.

“I get that nobody likes taxes, but in my personal and professional opinion these taxes are not going to be poorly spent,” Perry said. “They are necessary dollars.”

Perry said the consulting company that worked with the planning committee provided information showing that students who are placed in a clean, updated environment can improve in performance by as much as 6 percent.

“If we can take what’s already a extraordinary academic environment and increase it by 6 percent, that’s substantial,” Perry said.

One of the biggest problems that impacts student learning in the district is the air quality in the older buildings.

"The ventilation systems from the '50s weren't designed to bring in enough fresh air to keep the carbon dioxide levels where they need to be for kids to function and process information," Diel said.

Diel said the district is asking students and teachers to meet educational goals that the environment does not allow for. Woodward said poor lighting and poor air quality are proven to have a negative impact on student learning.

"From a health standpoint they are not in any physical danger, but we know that the higher the CO2 level is, it does impact thinking," Woodward said as he presented a graph showing the rising levels of carbon dioxide throughout the day at the middle school.

Another problem with the district's aging infrastructure is it's heating and plumbing systems. At Washington Elementary School, which was built in 1958, a steam pipe leak last year caused the floor over the leak to reach 171 degrees. Contruction workers were then required to use a jackhammer to remove concrete to get to the leak.

Diel said roofs don't meet the current snow load design standard and while there is a shoveling plan to monitor the snow loads, it's one reason why they would replace the buildings rather than remodel them. He said the "bones" of the building are not designed well — from bottom to top. He said the cost of a remodel is 80 percent of new construction, but the buildings themselves would still be outdated.

"There is too many unknowns in a remodel," Diel said. "That's why we are proposing to replace the schools — they have passed their useful lifespan."

Northside Elementary School was built in 1953 and Sandpoint Middle School was built in 1954. Along with Washington Elementary, these schools will be completely rebuilt if the levy passes. These schools have never been remodeled, though some additions have been made since the original construction.

The middle school is rated as "unsatisfactory" and received the lowest physical condition score of any LPOSD schools. Woodward said the new middle school will be located on the same 42 acre property but in a separate location off of Pine Street. The new building will have increased capacity and new track and athletic fields will separate the middle school from the high school. Additionally, four new classrooms would be added to the high school, replacing the existing portables.

New buildings will also be built for Northside and Washington Elementary schools, though classrooms built at Washington in 1994 will not be replaced. Completion of all three schools is expected no later than 2018 — Northside's expected completion is 2017 — if the levy is passed. A career technical shop at Clark Fork Junior/Senior High School would be completed by 2017 as well.

All schools will receive necessary safety upgrades, such as intercoms and alarm systems, as well as secure exterior doors.

In the state of Idaho, Perry said, property taxes are the only way that school districts can generate money for construction projects. Perry said the only other option is a 20-year bond that would spread the cost out over time, but would inevitably cost taxpayers more money. Woodward said that the longer the rebuilds and upgrades are postponed, the more it will cost the taxpayers as well.

“The state of our facilities are so poor, it’s clear we need to do something now,” Woodward said.

Information: voteourschools.org