All but Plains school levies pass

With a levy on every ballot in the school elections, the Plains High School and Elementary levies were the only levies to fail last Tuesday.

A large number of voters showed up to the polls in Plains to resoundingly reject the three levies on the ballot. The public voted against the $25,000 elementary general fund levy 301-250 votes, a 10 percent margin, the $55,000 high school general fund levy 349-256 votes, a 16 percent margin, and the elementary technology fund levy 311-242 votes, a 12 percent margin.

Ginny Holland, the Plains business manager/clerk, said the approximately 600 voters was very high for Plains. She said it was about a 250 voter increase from last year’s election. In the Plains Trustee election, which saw four people running for two positions, Nick Lawyer received 289 votes and Ronald Warren received 280 votes to sit on the school board the next three years. Chris Allen received 268 votes and Gregory Dicken received 160 votes.

With a lot of the voters struggling through tough economic times, Dixon Principal Mark Faroni said he was thankful that the voters passed the $20,000 elementary general fund levy 55-28. “We really appreciate the community being so proactive about their children’s education. I know it is a burden on everybody, but I think they understood the importance of it,” he said. Faroni, who was surprised that the levy passed by such a wide margin, said that the levy will be used toward the teaching staff’s salaries. Cheryl Morigeau and Kathy King ran unopposed for the Dixon School Board.

The Thompson Falls voters came out in large numbers to show their support for the two levies on the ballot. The $39,837 elementary general fund passed 461-269, a 26 percent margin and the $139, 802 high school general fund levy, the largest amount on any of the county’s ballot, passed 418-310 votes, a 14 percent margin.

“It was a great relief amongst the staff that there was support for the levy,” said Thompson Falls Principal Don Jensen. “There was more support than we expected,” he added.

“It came at the critical time,” Jensen said. He said if the levy didn’t pass, the school was planning to cut its athletic budget by 40 percent, cut about $30,000 to $40,000 from their staff funding and nearly $20,000 from their text book funds. “This was huge for us. We are sure thankful,” Jensen said.

“This came at the least likely time,” Jensen said. He said he had been principal for 15 years and every general fund levy that had been put on the ballots during this time had failed. He said this year’s levy was the largest amount they had requested and also came at a time when many people are struggling financially.

Jensen said one of the main reasons he thought the levy passed was because Thompson Falls Superintendent Jerry Pauli explained why the school needed the levy to the voters. “In years past we didn’t want to flood the public with too much information, “ he said. “But this year, with things the way they are, we figured we had nothing to lose.” he added. Jensen said Pauli set up committees to explain to the public why the school needed the funding and also to explain the intricacies of how school funding works.

Lance Pavlik and Holly Hedley were elected to the Thompson Falls School Board. Pavlik received 558 votes and Hedley received 430 votes. Peter Reinschmidt received 265 votes.

Gayle Munson, the Thompson Falls district clerk, said the voter turnout was very high. She said 734 voters marked a ballot last Tuesday, which is 31 percent of the 2,344 eligible voters in the district. She said only 376 voters cast a ballot in the school election last July and only 232 voters participated in the 2006 elections.

The two levies on the Hot Springs ballot narrowly passed. The $20,000 elementary general fund levy passed 126-110 and the $20,000 high school general fund passed by a eight-vote margin, 127-119. The Hot Springs trustee election was also close. Kim Baker and Frank Salmi were both elected to the board. Salmi received 137 votes and Baker received 124. Incumbent Rick DePoe bid to be reelected fell short, when he only received 108 votes. Amy Gray received 71 votes.

The $42,306 Noxon High School general fund levy was passed by a 3 percent margin, with 224 people voting for the levy and 202 people voting against it. In the Trout Creek precinct, the levy vote was tied at 71. In the Heron precinct the levy passed 59-49 and in the Noxon precinct the levy passed 94-82. Kevin Johnson and Tamra Weltz were elected to the Noxon School Board.