Board adopts $49 million budget; district earmarks state facilities payments and CTEC grant for capital projects including Sandpoint Middle School

The Lake Pend Oreille School District board adopted the fiscal 2025–26 budget after the district’s annual budget hearing, with administrators describing a budget that combines a healthy general fund balance and sizable state facility payments earmarked for capital work.

CFO Brian Waltz told trustees the district published the legally required budget summary and reviewed the numbers in public. “This is our annual budget hearing. It's required by law,” Waltz said. He said the district expects to begin the general fund with nearly $20.5 million in fund balance, listed state revenue as the district’s largest single revenue source and showed total available revenues near $49,000,000 for all funds.

Waltz said the district’s other funds are beginning with roughly $22.5 million, driven primarily by a $17 million payment from the state’s modernization/facilities program that the district plans to use for Sandpoint Middle School. He described planned capital spending next fiscal year of roughly $11.8 million in non‑general‑fund capital outlays and said the Sandpoint Middle School project is currently estimated at about $18.5 million (the project’s major construction is expected in 2026–27). “We have to preorder the equipment. We may have to write a check. We'll definitely be getting some design fees in and some of those fees. So I budget some dollars to cover that,” Waltz said.

Waltz also noted an approved CTEC (Career and Technical Education Center) state grant and related budget entries: the district expects state CTEC support and has budgeted $3.5 million of state revenue toward CTEC capital, with total CTEC project costs budgeted at about $4.7 million after local match and other project costs.

Trustees voted to adopt the 2025–26 budget. The formal motion to adopt was made during the meeting and carried by voice vote.

Separately during the meeting, the board approved contracting steps tied to the CTEC project: trustees approved a guaranteed maximum price and awarded a construction contract line item of $4,096,000 to the general contractor identified in the motion for CTEC work; the board recorded the motion and voice vote in the meeting minutes.

District administrators said the lump‑sum state payment and planned capital spending put the district in a strong financial position for the next several years but cautioned that many capital costs will materialize as construction begins in later fiscal years. The CFO and trustees said they will continue to monitor state facility distributions and project timing and that further project details and bids will be presented as design and procurement proceed.