Schools won't ask for extra tax levies

Voters won’t see operational levy requests from Kalispell Public Schools this spring.

School board trustees voted Wednesday not to ask taxpayers for extra tax levies to help the district make up the budget deficit it anticipates in 2011-12.

School officials are bracing for a nearly $1.5 million shortfall, an increase from earlier projections of a minimum $500,000 deficit. The deficit number climbed this week because of a failed local election and inaction at the state level.

On Tuesday, voters rejected a request that would have levied $6 million over five years for building and technology projects in Kalispell’s high school district.

Even without a levy, some projects must get done; officials estimate that maintenance and technology needs will add a $435,000 burden to the general fund budget.

There are items the district could put off, Superintendent Darlene Schottle said.

Not buying a new boiler for Flathead High School could save $60,000. Not upgrading two computer labs would save $40,000. The district could save $10,000 by not replacing security cameras.

But other projects, including fire safety upgrades at Flathead, can’t be delayed. School officials will meet with Kalispell Fire Chief Dan Diehl within the next few weeks to prioritize the building’s safety needs.

The state Legislature also threw a wrench into the district’s budget when a school funding bill stalled Wednesday in the Senate. A proposal to increase state education funding, in part by redistributing some oil and gas money from Eastern Montana counties, tied in a 25-25 vote.

Republicans sent the measure back to committee Thursday for additional tinkering. Until legislators approve that bill or another school funding plan, school districts across the states are in limbo.

“We don’t have an education funding bill, which means we really don’t know what’s going to happen,” Schottle said.

Despite the uncertainty, trustees had to decide by Thursday whether to ask voters to approve operational levies during school elections May 3.

Some board members were hesitant to ask for a levy after the building reserve failure. The levy failed by nearly 1,700 votes, with 2,972 people supporting it and 4,634 people opposing it.

In some school districts, voters were nearly 3-1 against the levy.

“I was surprised by the outcome, at least by the size of it,” Schottle said.

Trustee Rob Keller said he, too, was surprised.

“I think we totally underestimated the economy,” he said. “This is a really tough environment to try and pass a levy.”

Trustee Alice Ritzman agreed and said she would oppose asking for an operational levy.

“I couldn’t vote to run anything in May. There’s no point,” she said. “I think it would just cause more ill will” in the community.

Trustees discussed the perception that the school district constantly asks taxpayers for money. Tom Clark wondered where that idea came from.

“That’s a perception that we need to change,” he said.

The district has asked for only one operational levy since 2007, a $338,000 elementary request that failed last spring. It was the first elementary levy request the public had vetoed in more than a decade.

Since 1999, voters have approved seven levies to support the elementary general fund budget and three elementary building reserve levies.

Voters passed high school operational levies in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2007 and building reserve levies in 1999 and 2004. Operational levy requests failed in 2001 and 2006, and voters opposed building reserve levies this year and in 2009.

Voters also approved a $50.7 million bond issue in 2004.

That money built Glacier High School, remodeled the junior high into Kalispell Middle School and created Flathead High’s commons area.

While requests over the last decade have supported different needs throughout the district, voters sometimes see only that their taxes are increasing.

“There is a very big group out there that don’t want to see any more taxes,” Keller said. “That’s it. They’re just done.”

Part of the increase in property taxes can be chalked up to permissive levies from city and federal governments that increase taxes without a vote.

Schools have nonvoted levies, too, to support things such as transportation and adult education. But those levies are small portions of district’s budgets, and districts are limited as to how many mills they can levy.

Levy and bond requests are the only tax-related issues that property owners have control over.

“We’re the only one they get to vote on,” Schottle said.

Some trustees supported giving taxpayers one more vote this spring.

“We’ve gotten out of the habit of running levies,” Mary Ruby said. “We thought we were being very good to our public and responsible, but as you can see, it kind of backfired.”

Clark suggested presenting voters with an option: Pass the levy or a particular program will be cut.

“Let’s just tell the public we’re running it, and if you don’t pass it, this is what we’re cutting,” he said. “Let the public make the choice.”

But trustees did not approve a May levy election.

Board members voted 6-2 not to ask for a $280,800 elementary levy. Ruby and Eve Dixon supported the levy.

An $889,000 high school levy faced a much closer vote. Clark, Dixon, Ruby and Ivan Lorentzen supported running the levy. Ritzman, Keller, Frank Miller and Bette Albright opposed it.

Anna Marie Bailey, Brad Eldredge and Joe Krueger were absent.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by email at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.