Kamiah voters reject school plant facilities levy

Kamiah School District patrons rejected a school plant facilities levy Tuesday, leaving the school board to make a choice later this month about whether to try again in May.

Voters in the Culdesac, Genesee, Kendrick, Mountain View, Orofino and Potlatch school districts saw supplemental levies pass.

Kamiah School Board President Rick Simler said he hoped his district's relatively small, $133,350 levy would be favorable to voters in light of more expensive maintenance and operations levies in the adjacent Orofino and Mountain View school districts.

Instead, 652 voters, or 44 percent, said yes, while 824 said no. The facilities levy, intended to replace the roof at Kamiah Middle School, required a 55 percent supermajority to pass.

The levy's estimated rate of 67 cents per $1,000 of taxable value would have put the cost for property valued at $100,000 after the homeowner's exemption at about $67 for the year.

Simler said the Kamiah board will discuss its options at a regularly scheduled meeting March 21.

"I honestly don't have the answer to that," he said of running the levy again. "That's a tough one. To try to educate the community on the need that we have has been tough."

Simler said he hopes to see more discretionary money from the state of Idaho this coming year, but even a rise in that funding might not be enough for the roof project.

"We need a roof," he said. "We've just been putting band-aid patches on it for a few years now, trying to get by."

Voters in the Orofino School District approved a two-year, $2.68 million levy, with 1,037 in favor, or 60 percent, and 698 against.

Orofino's levy included a $400,000 increase intended to pay for roofs at Orofino High School and Timberline School. The estimated rate is $4.59 per $1,000, putting the yearly tax on a $100,000 home, after the homeowner's exemption, at about $459.

The Mountain View School District, which includes Grangeville, Kooskia and Elk City, saw a one-year, $2.66 million levy, appear to pass with 1,508 votes in favor, or just more than the necessary 50 percent, to 1,480 against.

With an estimated rate of $3.24 per $1,000 of assessed value, the cost would be about $324 for a home with taxable value of $100,000.

About 68 percent of voters in the Culdesac School District approved a two-year, $250,000 levy, with 122 in favor and 58 against. The levy's estimated rate of $4.62 per $1,000 will cost the owner of a home with a taxable value of $100,000 about $462 per year.

Genesee's one-year, $935,000 levy was approved by 246 voters, or 73 percent, to 90 against. At at estimated rate of $5.30 per $1,000, the levy will cost the owner of property with a taxable value of $100,000 about $530.

Voters in the Kendrick School District, which includes precincts in Latah, Nezperce and Clearwater counties, appeared to approve a one-year, $860,000 levy with 236 yes votes, or 66 percent, to 123 no votes. One Latah County precinct was not available at press time.

With an estimated rate of $8.18 per $1,000, the amount for a $100,000 home, after the homeowner's exemption, will be about $818 for the year.

In Potlatch, about 58 percent of voters approved the district's one-year, $1.39 million levy, with 519 voting in favor and 376 against.

The estimated rate of $6.12 per $1,000 of assessed value means the cost for a home with taxable value of $100,000 would be about $612 for the year.

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Stone may be contacted at mstone@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2244. Follow her on Twitter @MarysSchoolNews.