Kalispell schools celebrate District 5 voters OK elementary, high-school levies
Claire Anderson, 3, waits for her parents, Sandy and Ross Anderson, while they vote Tuesday morning at Whitefish Middle School. Claire’s sister attends the school, and Claire and two other sibling eventually will be students there as well. Jennifer DeMonte/Daily Inter Lake
There was much rejoicing - and a sigh of relief - in the Kalispell School District 5 office Tuesday night as numbers from the last reporting precinct, West Valley, came in.
Several nervous minutes had elapsed; votes in favor of the $637,547 high-school levy outnumbered those against by about 340. When the final precinct's numbers came in, district officials cheered.
"Yes, we did it. That is absolutely wonderful," Superintendent Darlene Schottle said. "We are thrilled that we had the support, and there will not have to be any program cuts."
The high-school levy passed by about 300 votes, with about 52 percent of voters supporting the request.
Voters also supported the district's $50,679 elementary levy. With approval from about 66 percent of the voters, it "passed pretty handily," Assistant Superintendent Dan Zorn said.
Much of the support for the district's high-school levy came from voters within the elementary district, Schottle said.
"We were supported by the Kalispell schools internally," she said. "It was a mixed bag when it came to our rural elementary schools. Probably if you looked at it overall, it was about a 50-50 split, with some districts not having the same level of support."
In other districts, levies passed by extremely narrow margins.
West Valley School's $98,000 general-fund levy passed by six votes. Voters approved Swan River's $25,633 levy by 16 votes. The Olney-Bissell district's $19,111 general-fund levy request passed by 18 votes.
But the closest race by far was in the Deer Park district. Its $50,000 building reserve levy failed by just two votes. Voters also rejected the school's $5,000 technology-acquisition levy.
Kila School's $147,500 building reserve levy request also was shot down. More than two-thirds of voters opposed the levy.
Other districts' levies passed with comfortable margins.
Whitefish voters showed strong support for all the districts' levies. About two-thirds of voters approved technology-acquisition levies and operating levies at the elementary and high-school levels - nearly $400,000 total.
In Bigfork, voters overwhelmingly supported the district's $75,586 elementary and $85,000 high-school levy requests. Both levies passed with a margin of about 200 votes.
Columbia Falls' $241,395 elementary levy passed with about a 90-vote margin. In Marion, voters approved a $14,573 general-fund levy by a comfortable 41-vote margin.
Unofficial results may be found on page A3.
Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.