Two district levy votes next week

Additionally those with mail-out ballots must have theirs returned to the Benewah County Courthouse no later than 8 p.m., March 14.

Election Day registration will be available at the polling places the day of. Those who want to register on Election Day will need to provide photo ID and proof of address.

For more information on voter deadlines call the Benewah County Auditor’s Office at 208-245-3212.

Other resources for voter registration or absentee mail-out ballot requests can be found by visiting voteidaho.gov.

Voters will be deciding on a levy proposal based on what school district they live in.

The St. Maries School District is asking voters to support a $4 million dollar levy to be spread out over the next two years.

The levy will come to about $2,073,385 per year with taxpayers paying an estimated average annual cost of $210 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value. The levy dollars funding will make up about 20 percent of the district’s overall budget.

Taxpayers are slated to pay about the same as they have been over the last 20 years. The levy amount is the same as the district asked for in 2021.

The district has continued to ask for the same levy amount since 2015.

“The commitment is to take the burden off of the local taxpayer,” Superintendent Alica Holthaus said. “We are working hard throughout the district to be as frugal as possible.”

According to a previous report on the levy, a large portion of the levy, about $860,885, will go towards district personnel expenses including teachers, staff, administrative wages and benefits.

Around $482,000 of the funding will be used to operate the UpRiver Elementary School, $365,000 will fund district-wide extracurricular activities such as stipends, benefits for extra staffing and transportation expenses for sports and clubs.

Leftover monies will be used for curricular materials, maintenance and security and the purchase of a new bus.

The Kootenai School District is asking voters to vote yes on its upcoming levy eleciton.

The district seeks $1,373,000 per year, for the next two years. The levy would begin fiscal year June 1, 2023 and end July 1, 2025.

The levy amount is about double what the district proposed in 2021.

The levy proposed two years ago was for $725,000 over two years.

The estimated total cost for taxpayers with the levy is slated at $93 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value.

The levy cost will help to fund a few different items within the Kootenai School District.

A majority of the funding, about $651,000 of it, will go towards salaries and benefits for certified and classified staff.

Around $250,000 will go towards building maintenance and $200,000 will go towards the special education department.

For more information on the levies, contact the St. Maries School District Office at 208-245-2579 or contact the Kootenai School District Office at 208-689-3631.