Missoula voters to get school levy ballots this week for May 5 election

MISSOULA, Mont. — Missoula County Public Schools announced that registered voters in Missoula will begin getting ballots this week for the May 5 school operational levy election.

This will be an all-mail election and ballots are set to go out on Wednesday, April 15. Ballots sent back through USPS should be mailed by April 28 to allow time for delivery.

All ballots have to be returned to the Missoula County Elections Office or an Election Day ballot drop-off location by 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5. The full list of drop-off sites are available on the Missoula County Elections website.

The ballot includes two funding requests tied to its general fund levies, one for the elementary district and one for the high school district. The district explained those levies would be paid for staff salaries and benefits, instruction, programs and daily school operations such as utilities, insurance, supplies and curriculum.

According to MCPS, state law requires part of a public school district's general fund to come from locally approved levies. The district said successful levies would provide 20% of the operating budget the state allows MCPS to adopt based on current enrollment.

The elementary district levy for grades K-eight asked for $1,356,027. MCPS said that would cost $6.21 a year for each $100,000 in assessed property value.

The high school district levy for grades nine through 12 asked for $1,132,187. MCPS said that would cost $2.77 a year for each $100,000 in assessed property value.

MCPS said homes located in both districts with an assessed market value of $300,000 would see an increase of about $2.50 a month. For homes with an assessed market value of $600,000, the increase would be about $5 a month.