Understanding the KSD supplemental levy
KELLOGG — When it comes to funding education in Shoshone County, there are many different cogs in the wheel that ensure local children are getting a quality education: federal and state funding, grants, and many others, but local levies have really come to the forefront in the Silver Valley.
Kellogg School District is looking for voters to approve a replacement, two-year supplemental, which accounts for a significant chunk of the district’s yearly programs.
“This isn’t a new or an additional tax,” KSD superintendent Woody Woodford said. “This levy replaces the one passed in 2016 that expires in 2018. The supplemental levy is not allocated to anything specific and fund approximately 1/3 of all programs in the Kellogg School District. These programs have become something that members of this community have come to expect being available.”
As Woodford said, the tax will remain the exact same as what property owners in the district have paid over the last two years with a rate of $6.76 per every $1,000 of property owned, so a property valued at $100,000 would see a yearly fee of $676.
Like any tax or fee there is an opposition, there are some who would prefer to not see the levy passed.
Local resident Stacy Dechand made it very clear that she wouldn’t support the levy.
“I will never vote yes on any levy or school bond until the school districts combine, or at least some effort is made to combine resources,” Dechand posted on the Shoshone News-Press Facebook page.
Woodford also took time to address this specific point of view and sees the logic behind such statements as flawed.
“The supplemental levy and consolidation are two separate issues that require two separate processes,” Woodford said. “If the levy fails it will hurt the kids. We require the funds from the levies to provide the kids with a quality education and taking that away doesn’t help anyone. If people are interested in consolidation they should follow the consolidation process.”
It was pro-consolidation, anti-levy logic that nearly led to the Wallace School District not passing their levy last year (in fact, the measure passed by single digits).
This fact is not lost on Woodford, who hopes that residents see the value in the students and vote yes on Nov. 7.
“Without the levy the district would not be able to maintain its current programs and we will begin the painful process of cutting 1/3 of our budget. These cuts would have dramatic impacts on nearly every program we have,” Woodford said. “Supporting the levy ensures that this won’t happen and that we will continue to provide a high quality education for the children of the Kellogg School District.”
For more information on Kellogg School District’s Supplemental Levy, go to the Shoshone News-Press Facebook page for our exclusive live video interview with Mr. Woodford.