Public school levies: 3 wins, 3 losses in Montana’s larger school districts

Public school funding levies saw mixed success across Montana’s largest districts as ballot tallies finalized late Tuesday.

Voters in Bozeman, Missoula and Butte approved levies, while measures in Helena, Billings and Kalispell failed amid a difficult period for school districts in winning resident approval. Here’s a rundown of the results:

Missoula County Public Schools

Missoula voters approved the elementary and high school operational levies of more than $1 million each.

“At the district, we feel a huge amount of gratitude to our community,” Superintendent Micah Hill told MTFP Wednesday. “When we see results across the state where a majority of levies did not pass, I think it just speaks volumes to our community. They value education, they value the programs and the work we’re doing in support of their students.”

The $1.35 million elementary school operational levy and a $1.13 million high school operational levy will help cover salaries and other rising costs amid declining enrollment, district officials said in March. The elementary levy received 58% votes in favor and 41% votes against. The high school levy passed by a narrower margin, with 50.7% in favor and 48% against.

The elementary general fund levy will cost the owner of a $300,000 home an additional $18.63 annually and the owner of a $600,000 home $39.79. For the high school general fund levy, the owner of a $300,000 home will pay another $8.30, and the owner of a $600,000 home will pay $17.73.

The levies are higher than in past years because the STARS Act, which state lawmakers passed last year, allows districts in high-cost counties that have met the starting teacher salary goals to increase their maximum budget and use that revenue to offset employee housing costs, said Denise Williams, the district’s executive director of business and operations, in March.

Hill said Wednesday that when the district began looking at its budget for next year, it was starting $2 million in the hole because of negotiated salary increases. The district receives a 3% inflationary increase in its state funding, but because of a decline in enrollment, it is only seeing $800,000 in new money, he said.

While the district will still have to make reductions based on declining enrollment, the passage of the levies means it won’t have to make additional cuts to programming and services, Hill said. The funding will also go toward providing employees with livable wages, he said.

“We’re excited, we’re very grateful, very humbled by the support from the community,” Hill said. “We know that this is a huge ask in a time when things are really volatile from a financial and economic standpoint.”

— Katie Fairbanks, MTFP

Butte School District No. 1

Voters in Butte approved levies for both the high school and elementary funds.

The school district requested a $320,000 high school technology levy and a $175,000 elementary operational levy.

Butte’s high school technology levy passed with 4,168 “yes” votes and 2,726 “no” votes. The elementary operational levy received 4,003 “yes” votes and 2,726 “no” votes, according to Butte-Silver Bow County chief deputy clerk and recorder Roxie Larson.

The technology levy, according to the school website, was needed to replace aging instructional technology and add new sustainable technology that would improve student access.

“We thank the community for supporting those two levies,” district business director Kevin Patrick told MTFP Wednesday morning. “For the high school levy, we are one of the only AA districts that don’t have a technology levy. This will help us have a designated revenue source to help support the technology needs of the high school.”

The elementary levy will boost the district’s budget for elementary and middle schools.

“The Butte School District has been fortunate enough to have the community support these levies that allow us to operate at the maximum amount of our budget,” Patrick said.

In total, Butte residents with properties valued at $300,000 will see their tax bill increase by $13.26 annually, while those with properties valued at $600,000 will see their taxes increase by $28.32 per year.

— JoVonne Wagner, MTFP

Helena Public Schools

Voters firmly rejected $3.4 million in levies proposed by the Helena Public School District, according to results posted by the Lewis and Clark County Election office.

The district proposed three levies: two technology levies for the elementary, middle and high schools, and an elementary operational levy, totaling $3.4 million. The election marks the third failed attempt from Helena Public Schools in the last two years to raise money to support its technology infrastructure needs and the elementary general fund.

The elementary operational levy failed with 9,177 “no” votes and 6,854 “yes” votes. The high school technology levy received 10,159 “no” votes and 6,829 “yes” votes, and the elementary technology levy was rejected with 9,662 “no” votes and 6,386 “yes” votes.

If voters had passed all three levies, residents with properties valued at $300,000 would have seen their tax bill increase by $54.04 annually, while those with properties valued at $600,000 would have seen their tax bill increase by $115.42.

The $953,618 operational levy for the elementary and middle schools was intended to address a 20% funding gap between state allocations and district costs for operations, specifically for curriculum programs, purchasing school supplies and strengthening staff retention, district officials have said.

The elementary technology levy was proposed at $1.6 million per year for the next 10 years, and the high school technology levy was requested at $850,000 per year for the next 10 years. If passed, funds would’ve gone toward paying for the district’s existing technology infrastructure, replacing equipment and maintaining software licensing and security and network systems, all of which have increased in cost over the past two decades, according to school officials. The last time technology levies were passed was in 2004.

The school district’s technology costs range from $3 million to $4 million a year, according to district director of educational technology Gary Myers. Without additional financial support, tech costs have been “eating into” the district’s general fund, he said.

“While the results are not what we hoped for, we respect the decision of the voters,” district communications specialist Taylor Lassiter told MTFP in an email Wednesday.

“The reality remains that the needs of our students and the needs throughout our district do not go away; they still must be met.”

“Operational, licensing, and infrastructure costs are not declining, and the daily requirements for providing a safe, high-quality education continue to grow,” Lassiter said. “Without the funding from any of the levies, the district will analyze various scenarios for resource allocation based on the financial outlook and the sustainability of current service levels and the exploration of different strategies to manage the budget.”

The rejected levies came before voters less than a year after Helenans narrowly approved a historic $283 million in bonds to fund three school building projects. In 2024, voters rejected five levies, and last year, only one operational levy was approved while the remaining technology requests failed.

— JoVonne Wagner, MTFP

Kalispell Public School District 5

In Kalispell, a $1.1 million annual levy failed with 54% voting against and 46% in favor across about 7,500 ballots. The funds would have been used for the middle and elementary schools to maintain class sizes, retain staff and re-establish a balanced budget, according to the district. According to a press release from the district, the levy would have addressed “inflationary adjustments and structural funding challenges” that have come up since the last successful levy in 2023.

According to the district, the levy would have meant an annual tax increase of about $60 for a $600,000 home.

The high school district last year narrowly passed a $2.9 million levy, which translated to about a $100 annual tax increase for a $600,000 home.

The school district argued that the levy was needed to fill a gap in state funding. Superintendent Matt Jensen said the decision by voters will have a “pretty significant impact.”

“The levy failing puts us in a position where we’re gonna be about $650,000 in the negative going into next year,” Jensen told MTFP Wednesday. Jensen said the district is “making decisions to have the least negative impact.”

— Zeke Lloyd, MTFP

Billings School District 2

In Billings, voters shot down a $5 million levy that would have closed a budgetary gap created by inflation. Both the elementary and high school district levies received only 39% approval, with 61% of voters on both measures voting against the tax increase, county elections results show.

Superintendent Erwin Garcia said he was not surprised at the results. He said he’s been asked: “Why are you running these (levies) if you know they are going to fail?”

But Garcia said school district officials “cannot be silent on our needs.” They were obligated to seek the levy, he said, as budget constraints make it more difficult to run programs and retain staff.

The levy would have paid for safety upgrades, including replacing the decades-old intercom systems used in building emergencies, such as a stabbing that took place at Senior High School earlier this year.

It also would have helped attract qualified staff. Garcia said Billings Public Schools is having to compete with Sheridan, Cody and other districts in northern Wyoming that often have higher teacher pay.

Nevertheless, Garcia said the district would likely go back to voters next spring to ask for an infrastructure bond to help pay for an $88 million backlog in deferred maintenance at the high schools, as well as other building needs.

That ask would come on the heels of a jail expansion measure that Yellowstone County voters will decide this fall. Garcia acknowledged it could be a lot for local taxpayers to stomach, on top of rising gasoline and food costs.

“We have needs, and we’ll let the voters decide,” he said.

— Phoebe Tollefson, MTFP