Helena voters passed $283 million in public school funding. So what's next?

As early as the fall of 2028, Helena students could reap the benefits of voter-approved school funding: new buildings and lunch from a new district kitchen.

"We're not going to let this go to waste," Robert Worthy, who leads the school district's food program, said.

The $283 million in bonds — passed narrowly by voters Sept. 9 — will fund a new Helena High School, renovated Capital High School, new Kessler Elementary School, relocated central kitchen, upgrades for the Project for Alternative Learning (PAL) and new athletics facilities.

The district does not expect to break physical ground within the coming weeks for its new sites, but it does expect to break ground in the planning department.

In order for the district to meet its goal of opening its new buildings in fall 2028, it would need to break ground in summer 2026. Officials said it would take roughly one year of planning and two years of construction.

Officials said the district would discuss its approach by seeking out architectural and construction bids, formulating verbiage in paperwork and organizing meetings open to the public throughout the planning process.

During an Aug. 26 special board meeting, the board of trustees approved Hulteng Consulting, Construction and Management Inc. to consult the district through the planning and implementation process.

District Facilities Director Todd Verrill and Superintendent Rex Weltz said the goal of the process was to have it open to the public to gather input from community members, families, staff and others.

The input will be used to curate ideas of designs for buildings and address the needs of the public and their students.

Kessler Elementary School

Principal of Kessler Elementary School Riley Thatcher has previous experience with bonds and a new school when the 2017 bonds were passed to build the district's three new elementary schools, Bryant, Jim Darcy and Central.

She taught at the old Jim Darcy Elementary School building and the new one, so she felt she could offer her perspective as a teacher and now administrator during the planning process.

"This process for me at Kessler is not just a building, it's a collaboration," she said.

Her faith in the Helena community's support for children gave her confidence the bonds would pass.

Some of the priorities for the new school are drop-off and pickup areas and safety, while maintaining the "close-knit feel" of the current school.

Amanda Northrup, the parent of a kindergartner and second grader at Kessler, said when she saw the initial results on election night showing the bonds failing she was not surprised due to negative comments in the public.

"When we saw that we felt pretty let down," she said. "... The staff and teachers are incredible, so they deserve to have a good (work) environment."

Regardless of the decision by voters, she said she would have kept her children in Kessler Elementary because her family had an investment in it.

As a part of the school's parent organization, she added she would have worked with the group on next steps to do what was best for all who worked, learned and taught in the school.

Kelsey Wiegand, another Kessler parent, said she never saw the first early results that showed the elementary and high school bonds failing, but felt excitement and hope the following morning when results showed the bond had passed.

"For anyone who has passed through the halls of Kessler over the last 80-plus years, you know that the hallways are tight, the layout is funky, it’s cold in the winter, it’s hot in the summer and that the room for growth within its space is limited," she said.

Wiegand added her husband went to Kessler 34 years ago and it hadn't changed.

"So, it’s important to me that our kids don’t have overcrowded classrooms and hallways, that they aren’t too hot or too cold in their learning environment and that we can welcome new families with open arms and safe walls," Wiegand said.

District central kitchen

Helena Public Schools' central kitchen operates at Capital High School with minimal space for staff and supplies, but it has had space for live animals.

Worthy said in his 20-plus years of experience, he has seen a duck, dog and squirrels enter through the kitchen's deliver door due to its inadequate functionality.

Due to a lack of space, the kitchen staff can't make fresh food every day because there's nowhere to store it, but that can change now that bonds have passed, he said.

"I went to bed saying we're going to miss it by 100 people ... I couldn't believe it," Worthy said. "Then I woke up the next morning and I was like, 'What?' I was shocked."

Worthy said he would have continued to serve the district food regardless of the bonds, but the newly passed funding opens up new possibilities for him and his team.

The funding and relocation of the central kitchen will allow Worthy to create food from scratch every day, alternating menu options and easing accessibility for deliveries and storage.

"I was wondering what we were going to do if it doesn't pass. I mean we have to go on," he said.

PAL, Helena High, Capital High 

Brian Kessler, principal of Helena High School, felt excited after finding out the bonds unofficially passed. He said the district aimed to be "good stewards" of the money they were given.

"We want to be able to build a building where our kids can get work experience and build on those skills," Kessler said.

Kessler, who was the principal of East Helena High School, which opened in 2020, said he was excited about the upcoming early steps toward the creation of the new buildings in the high school and felt he could offer input based on his experiences.

"East Helena has done a very nice job making that high school a community center ... So I think that's a big piece of insight that I'll be able to help bring," he said.

Capital High School Principal Brett Zanto and PAL Principal Matthew Carey agreed safety and security would remain at the forefront of discussions and priority management throughout the process.

Zanto was anxious when he initially saw the results of failing bond measures, but was excited to find out they flipped the next morning.

"People in our community really stepped up," he said.

He added the district offered a lot of opportunity for community members to learn about the importance of the bonds through first-hand accounts, along with other priorities he thought of.

Zanto wanted to be a part of the discussions, with a goal of keeping students on campus more often for events, practices and extracurricular activities rather than going elsewhere.

Carey mentioned some of his other priorities aside from safety and security were trades and vocational education and the ability to offer programs and lessons to "propel" his graduates into their future careers and lives.

"I'm looking forward to adding more staffing, if that can be a part of the deal as we increase enrollment, providing more physical space in the classrooms and tools kids can use," he said. "I know there's been a need in the community for an increased presence of PAL ... There's been a desire to expand the program."

Every official and district representative the Independent Record interviewed thanked the community for supporting its schools, students, staff and faculty by voting to approve the bonds and vowed to move forward to do "what was best for students."