Levy talk heats up candidate forum

SANDPOINT — Levies were the hot topic at Wednesday's Lake Pend Oreille School District trustee candidate forum.

Zone 2 candidate Gary Suppiger set the tone during introductions where, as the first to speak, called out the candidates who did and did not support the levy.

"There are three candidates on this stage, myself, Lonnie and Cary, that support the school district, support the levies, support the current district of funding, support all of the programs the district currently has," Suppiger said, referring to Lonnie Williams for Zone 3 and Cary Kelly for Zone 5.

The three candidates who did not support the levies, namely the most recent supplemental levy, defended their position and said there were a lot of unanswered questions surrounding it.

"We had questions regarding the budget, where the money was going, why the additional monies," said Zone 2 candidate Richard Miller. "We couldn't get straight answers from the district."

Victoria Zeischegg, Zone 3 candidate, and Anita Perry, Zone 5 candidate, both said they would have voted yes if the current board of trustees and administration had agreed to run a levy for the same amount as the previous two-year supplemental levy of $15.7 million.

The first official question was, "Did you vote yes for the March 2017 supplemental levy?"

"I did not vote for the supplemental levy this time around," Zeischegg said. " I was really hoping they would keep the levy amount the same as it had been two years ago ... It's not that I'm anti-levy, anti-kids, I just wanted to see it stay the same level as all the other districts around LPOSD."

Her opponent, Williams, said he voted yes because the supplemental levy is needed to close the gap between the federal and state funding.

"I'm a very strong supporter of our school district and our staff and the direction we're going, so I was happy to vote for it," Williams said.

More levy questions included, "How will you engage the public to pass a facilities levy so the school district can have safe and adequate school buildings? Is there a cap on levy spending and is there a way to be free of constant levies?"

When asked, "Does more money for the schools result in better prepared students?" the candidates were mostly in agreement that it does not.

"If money was the solution, then Detroit, ,New York, Chicago and L.A. would all have top notch schools, and they don't. They are failing schools," Perry said. "So, how the money is spent is really what counts."

Kelly agreed that money does not equate to higher test scores. However, he said, an comfortable learning environment is essential.

"It's not a learning environment if children are cold in the wintertime, or warm in the spring ... you can have an environment where it would directly affect the learning atmosphere."

The forum continued with several more questions about conflicts of interest, claims of discord and lack of transparency, class sizes and even arming teachers with firearms. On the firearm question, the candidates were again in agreement that no, firearms, especially without proper training, is not something they would approve of in local schools at this time.

Finally, the candidates were asked to distinguish themselves from their opponents. Each in turn stressed their qualifications, experiences and volunteerism in and outside of the schools.

The forum, hosted by the Bonner County Republican Central Committee and sponsored by KFRY Community Radio, SandpointOnline.com and the Sandpoint Reader, was streamed live and can be viewed at facebook.com/sandpointonline.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.