MSD asks voters for levy bump

The Moscow School District is due for a raise, according to Superintendent Greg Bailey.

The League of Women Voters of Moscow hosted Bailey on Wednesday to discuss a proposal to raise the district's indefinite maintenance and operations levy by $1.9 million to a total of $11.4 million.

If approved by voters Nov. 9, Bailey said the lift will cost taxpayers $0.29 per $1,000 of assessed property value annually - or about $29 for a home valued at $100,000.

Bailey said Moscow's indefinite levy distinguishes it from other local districts, many of which have similar taxes that expire at the end of each year - meaning a new measure must be placed on ballots annually to replace expiring levies.

While the Moscow School District does not have to ask voters for permission to continue to levy the same rate each year, Bailey said raising the rate requires a simple majority at the ballot box.

"Since 1992, I think there's been five times that we have had to come back to the taxpayers and ask for an increase of this indefinite supplemental levy," Bailey said. "The last time we asked was seven years ago. We're excited that we were able to stretch it out seven years - that matches the other longest time that we were able to stretch it out."

In addition to helping fund a new, all-day kindergarten program, Bailey said raising the levy amount would help the district deal with staffing concerns, including hiring more supplemental staff and faculty.

Bailey said, the district has also increased salaries paid to district employees, including teachers.

Salaries and benefits make up 86.5 percent of the school's total general fund budget, Bailey said.

He said the raises were necessary in order for the district to attract and retain instructors. He pointed out neighboring Pullman School District recently agreed to raise teacher salaries by around 15 percent.

"We're not going to be able to match that - but we had to be somewhat competitive there because right now, the pipeline for teachers, if you haven't heard, is drying up," Bailey said. "It is a lot harder to hire teachers than it was 10 to 15 years ago - I used to, if I had an elementary position, I could have 20 to 30 applicants - we get now about four or five applicants."

Bailey said the district also just hired an additional school resource officer, bringing the total to two. He said the officers will be stationed at Moscow High School and Moscow Middle School with duties at all of the district's elementary schools as needed.

"Due to the safety issues that all schools are dealing with, we felt like this would cover and take care of our schools better than what we had prior to that," Bailey said, adding the intent is to familiarize students with law enforcement.

Bailey acknowledged the state has begun to increase its funding for K-12 education, but Idaho remains 49th in education spending. Meanwhile, Bailey said, state legislators have been attempting to rethink the state's formula for funding education and the latest draft of the new plan does not look promising for districts like Moscow.

"The one that they just put out is going to cost us - we'll go negative $1.2 million," Bailey said. "I would say every medium to large school district is taking a huge hit."

Bailey is quick to point out there remains a long process ahead before a new formula could become reality. He said the plan is still in committee and could change dramatically before and after it is presented to the state Legislature.

Should the levy lift fail to pass, Bailey said the school would face deep cuts to staff, extracurriculars and other non-essential school programs. However, he said he feels fairly confident voters will approve the measure.

"We're a university town, that has helped us a lot - the commitment to education is great here," Bailey said. "Moscow is unique in having that indefinite levy - thank you ... we can long-term plan in this community, which is really helpful for us."

Scott Jackson can be reached at (208) 883-4636, or by email to sjackson@dnews.com.