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I am wearying of LPOSD using teachers and pupils to spin a tale of woe and draconian consequences if the levy does not pass.

Why are teachers currently educating our children on one classroom containing three grades due to declining student population? Perhaps instead of paying coaches $20,000 more a year than the average wage earner in Bonner County, there is a better use for that money.

It’s no wonder, that in 2015, the Albertson Foundation, which had poured over $700 million into school districts in Idaho, stopped its funding of public schools. The foundation concluded, “Higher per student spending does not guarantee student achievement,” The Albertson Foundation’s “Rethinking Education” document states. “If Idaho elects to boost per student spending, how would schools make the new money matter? Evidence and experience demonstrate that additional dollars alone do not guarantee improved results. Spending more money, the same way — business as usual — has shown limited success elsewhere.”

LPOSD continues to spend money the “same old way” and vilify anyone who dares to speak out. Perhaps rather than spending time name calling and labeling, they should spend that time in conversations about fiscal responsibility with the funds from the taxpaying public.

More money is not the answer. The answer is a forensic audit of the LPOSD and then a plan, going forward that makes the best use of the monies paid by the taxpayers, monies that directly benefit the students’ education.

ANITA AURIT

Sandpoint