March 2021 Replacement Levy

In March of this year, there is going to be a $9.52 million levy. This levy is replacing the one Lakeland Joint School District currently has and is actually a little bit of a lower payment. 

This levy will provide programs for students’ learning. It will focus on student, staff, patron and parent priorities and will also help with state funding and the cost of running schools. 

I learned a lot after I spoke to Dr. Becky Meyer, Superintendent of LJSD who knows many things about this levy. 

Anyone who owns a house or business in the LJSD area will have to pay money for local schools by paying taxes for the levy. All schools get money, but it isn’t always enough. We need the levy because the state of Idaho doesn’t give enough money for the school’s funding. 

However, there are some bad things about this levy. 

One is that we don’t get enough money for education. Also, people who don’t have kids that go to school don’t want to pay the extra taxes for the levy because they think it won’t benefit them. 

“If we don’t have a good education system, we will have a higher dropout rate, greater drug use and more crime” says Dr. Meyer. 

There are also several good things about this levy that may outweigh the bad. 

LJSD will keep the same teachers, programs and sports. The levy also helps almost 30% of the yearly budget, the armed guards at schools, full day kindergarten, all curricular materials, and many more things needed for students to learn. 

The class sizes will also remain a good size because no teachers will lose their job. 

The tax rate for this levy continues to decrease as new people move into the community. It is currently $222/$100,000 of your home value, or $2.22. 

If this levy is not passed, many programs and activities that students look forward to every day will be gone. Also, some of their favorite teachers might be fired, and education will not be as good. 

“I’m encouraging you to not be complacent and if not everyone is on board it will be bad” said Dr. Meyer. Dr. Meyer says to encourage anyone over 18 to vote for this levy and to look on the LJSD website for more information.