Voters reject school mill levies in Helena, East Helena

Voters in Helena and East Helena have rejected four total mill levies proposed by their separate school districts in Tuesday’s election aimed toward keeping up with technology licensing needs in Helena and boosting teaching staff and district coffers in East Helena, according to unofficial results.

Election results released early Wednesday morning by Lewis and Clark County Elections showed the three Helena Public Schools levies failing by at least 2,000 votes, and East Helena Public Schools' one proposed levy down by nearly 500 votes, with 46% of registered voters’ ballots in.

Helena Public Schools Superintendent Rex Weltz has conceded the three HPS levies were not going to pass.

“We are grateful to everyone who took the time to participate in this election and engage in the conversation about our schools. While the results were not what we hoped for, we respect the decision of the voters,” Weltz said in a statement.

The district’s biggest ask of voters, a $1.6 million elementary school operations, infrastructure and licensing technology levy, showed 9,662 votes against the proposal to 6,386 votes for it.

Similarly, an $850,000 operations, infrastructure and licensing technology levy for the high school district saw 10,159 votes against it compared to 6,829 for the proposal.

The third Helena Public Schools levy, a $953,000 request that would go to the elementary district’s general fund and backfill what, according to district officials, is a shortfall because of the state’s school funding mechanism, failed as well, with 9,177 votes against the proposal and 6,854 votes for it.

Weltz had stressed at several board meetings and in other public communications urging voters to support the levies that if the technology proposals didn’t pass, money to pay for licenses for technology broadly used across the district would have to come out of the district’s general fund, pulling money away from the classroom.

One example given was needing an individual license for each of more than 600 Wi-Fi routers used inside Helena schools and other buildings. Hundreds more licenses are needed to operate the district’s network, computers, software and other technology.

All three levies combined would have cost an estimated $6 a month, or $72 a year, on the tax bill of a $400,000 home, the district said.

But some board and district officials said when they approved the levies for the May 5 ballot they understood they faced residents and taxpayers who just last September approved a combined $283 million bond package to build a new Helena High and Kessler Elementary and to renovate Capital High.

Weltz said late Tuesday in a statement that the district’s next steps will include evaluating its financial position to include future adjustments between funding, programs and personnel.

He said the district remained sincerely grateful to voters for passing the bonds last year and that while the bonds could not fund what the levies would have gone toward, the district recognizes the toll increasing taxes takes on the community.

“We do not take the community’s previous and current support for granted,” Weltz said.

He also cited people’s existing financial stresses, recently exacerbated by President Donald Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran, and challenges he has repeatedly pointed to coming from the way Montana funds public education.

“We are all feeling the weight of the world as global and national economic impacts continue to strain household and institutional budgets alike. As we face these local realities, it becomes increasingly clear that we must also address the systemic challenges of school funding at the state level,” Weltz said in the statement.

“Ensuring our schools have the stable, long-term resources they need requires a collective effort that extends beyond this single election and into the halls of our state capitol. We are committed to advocating for our students and staff while being responsible stewards of the resources you provide,” he added.

East Helena Public Schools’ proposed $392,172 mill levy, which would go to the district’s general fund and toward adding at least five full-time teaching positions, per the district, also failed, with 1,971 votes against it and 1,522 votes in its favor.

Preliminary results in the election, once fully counted, will go through a canvassing on May 19 and certification process before they are finalized and published.