In the Best Interest of Children
All but two current WBCSD board members voted to burden taxpayers with a Levy BEFORE requesting a proper financial review. Thank you Trustees Rutledge and Brown for standing firm on accountability. We can ALL agree we want a quality education for every WBCSD child. The fact is, WBCSD schools are continuing to perform poorly. According to data from the Idaho State Department of Education for the 2020-21 school year:
- 2021 graduation rates for the 5 other area schools averages 88% while WBCSD is 63%.
- 2022 English/Language Arts ISAT proficiency scores average 58.6% while WBCSD is 52.3%.
- 2022 Math ISAT proficiency scores average 45.5% while WBCSD is 38.1%.
Boundary County School District has similar demographics to WBCSD. Their district spends $10,600 per student per year while WBCSD currently spends $13,300 per student. Throwing more taxpayer money at the problem does NOT make the education better! An audit revealing how WBCSD is spending their money is a logical first step, rather than proposing a 38% higher levy ($4.7M). Do not agree to additional taxation until there is transparency and accountability. Vote NO Levy on May 16th .
* Cost per student, graduation rates and ISAT data were obtained from idahoschools.org,
an Idaho State Department of Education website.
Kathryn Barlow
Spirit Lake, ID
