West Bonner considers school closures after revenue failure

June 6 – Update: West Bonner School Board votes to close elementary school

PRIEST RIVER, Idaho — The West Bonner School Board met Wednesday night to consider whether to close several of its five schools next year as it balances a budget deficit due to a failed levy. The board did not make a decision by the publication deadline.

The district administration last week presented the board with a long list of recommended budget cuts, as well as several options for closing different combinations of high schools and three elementary schools. The most drastic option was to combine elementary school with high school and close Priest Lake and Idaho Hill elementary schools.

The closures would involve cutting 13 certified teachers through attrition, as well as an administrator and additional classified staff.

Voters in the district rejected a $4.6 million levy last month, and a similar measure failed a year ago. The district got through this school year using what was left of its emergency federal funding for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recommended budget cuts included leasing or selling the district office and funding sports and extracurricular activities through participation fees, increased fundraising or sponsorships.

Even with the cuts, the district will likely need to dip into its reserves to balance the budget.

“If we don’t do something different or something significant, we will have big problems in 2026 keeping this district afloat,” said Chief Financial Officer Dean Davis.

The board heard a series of public comments from parents on Wednesday, offering suggestions and other alternatives, including relying on community donations.

Special Education Director Kristina Kenny is leading a committee to identify alternative funding options. Kenny told the council that the committee found three potential sources of funding from local foundations, donations and establishing an endowment fund that the community can donate to.

Last September, voters decisively recalled two council members who actively campaigned against the latest tax.

Whitney Urmann, who moderates a Facebook group supporting the school district, said she hoped the tide had turned after the recall, but it was difficult to compete with a barrage of misinformation against the tax.

“More than ever, we have to stick to our schools,” Urmann said.

While older students in the area take the bus to elementary and middle schools, the 30-mile bus ride will be more difficult for younger children.

Urmann taught at Priest Lake on a one-year contract with COVID relief funds. Although she teaches at a school in Northern California, her parents still live in the area and she remains active in district advocacy and hopes to return. She’s back in town for the summer.

Robert Bauer, a parent who volunteers as a crossing guard at Idaho Hill in Oldtown, said combining schools from three communities will be difficult for children.

From conversations with others, Bauer believes the tax failed because of backlash from those who were against the recall. He thinks they wanted to harm the district out of spite.

He plans to continue volunteering.

“I’m going to help in any way I can,” Bauer said.

Kylie Hoepfer, a mother of two at Priest River Elementary, said that while the school won’t close, she worries about its population nearly doubling with larger class sizes.

One of the main complaints of those who opposed the imposition was low test scores, but Hoepfer questioned how larger class sizes and less funding would help with that.

In 2006, the Legislature changed how it funds schools, cutting property taxes and giving more control to local voters through fees. As a result, about a third of school funding depends on local taxes. Some districts have perpetually struggled to pass them.

“Until Idaho better funds education, we will be at a standstill,” Hoepfer said.

James Hanlon’s reporting for The Spokesman-Review is funded in part by Report for America and members of the Spokane community. This story may be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper’s editor-in-chief.