School Levies: Kootenai County Republicans “Steadfast In Their Opposition” To Coeur d’Alene School Levies — Greenlight Lakeland School Levy
On March 14th, Kootenai County residents will be going to the polls to vote on School Levies, again.
Lakeland, Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene schools will all be asking for millions in new tax dollars from citizens, and the official Republican Party in Kootenai County, the KCRCC has released a statement about their stance towards all 3 of the new levies. The statement says:
The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC) held a special meeting on February 2nd to discuss the upcoming levies in the Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls School Districts. On January 24th, representatives from Lakeland and Post Falls School Districts met with the KCRCC, the official Republican Party in Kootenai County, while representatives from Coeur d’Alene School District declined the invitation.
After meeting with these School District representatives and considering all of the available levy data, the KCRCC voted to recommend or oppose each of the upcoming levies. The results of the votes are:
• Lakeland School District - Recommend
• Post Falls School District - Neutral
•Coeur d’Alene School District - Oppose
Lakeland School District in Rathdrum, Idaho has taken concrete steps to listen to parents and enact policies that the citizens have asked for, like removing disgusting books from the libraries, preventing Critical Race Theory and “Gender Ideologies” from making their way into the schools policies, and has hired armed guards to protect children from any kind of “active shooter threats.”
According to the release, Precinct Committeeman Phil Thompson said “Over the past year, the Lakeland school district has demonstrated its willingness to respond to, listen to, and respect its taxpayers and parents.” The KCRCC cited “Lakeland’s recent demonstration of sound use of taxpayer funds” as a reason for supporting the levy.
In stark contrast, the Kootenai County Republican Party criticized Coeur d’Alene’s upcoming levy on multiple points. The statement reads:
“On March 14th, Coeur d’Alene residents will vote on two separate levies: one 5 year $5 million levy for safety and maintenance, and a second levy which would give $25 million in taxpayer funds to the School District every single year, forever. Residents would no longer have the ability to leverage their hard earned tax-dollars in exchange for accountability and fiscal transparency.
Nina Beesley shared deep concerns over the perpetual levy saying “it removes the voice of the people, and it removes their vote.” School levies are commonly voted on every two years, and this mechanism gives citizens the ability to withhold funds, when the school district fails to respect and carry out the wishes of its’ taxpayers and parents.
Beesley continued, saying “‘In perpetuity’ is not a representative republican form of government, and should never be supported.”
The statement says that due to the economic conditions, and considering how much the levies would raise taxes that it would “have a disproportionately negative affect on Kootenai County’s most vulnerable citizens.” The Coeur d’Alene Levies would cost taxpayers $114.25 per $100,000 of assessed value.
“Coeur d’Alene Schools have faced outcries from concerned parents over the past several years over their mask and vaccine policies, as well as their controversial new programs Portrait of a Graduate and Sources of Strength which are filled with ideologies that are opposed to our shared community values.”
The Kootenai County Republicans aren’t wrong here. Despite the lies printed in the Coeur d’Alene Press, the District has implemented policies that have their roots based in Critical Race Theory, and “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,” among other things.
The school district also recently spent up to $60,000 of taxpayer funds for a coercive marketing campaign that may have broken campaign finance laws in Idaho.
“The KCRCC stands steadfast in their opposition to both of Coeur d’Alene School District’s levies.”