Kalispell Public Schools seek general fund levies

General fund levies for Kalispell Public Schools’ elementary and high school districts will be on the ballot in a May mail-in election.

The high school general fund levy request is for $2,490,973 while the elementary general fund levy request is for $354,327.

Money raised by a general fund levy covers a broad range of costs related to the daily operation of schools and the education of students, including salaries and benefits (about 80% of the total budget), curriculum and supplies, utilities, technology and maintenance.

Taxpayers living in the high school district get to vote on the $2,490,973 levy. The high school district encompasses Kalispell and 13 surrounding partner schools whose students go on to attend Glacier and Flathead high schools.

If the high school levy is approved, owners of homes with assessed values of $300,000 could see annual taxes increase by $60.89.

Kalispell taxpayers may also vote on the $354,327 elementary levy. If the elementary district levy is approved, owners of homes with assessed values of $300,000 could see annual taxes increase by $20.11.

The Montana Department of Revenue is in the midst of a state-wide reappraisal process with official numbers expected in June. Currently, the median assessed property value is $263,370.

District Business Director and Clerk Denise Williams noted that even if values go up, new construction also affects tax increases by spreading the load across more people.

If both levies are approved it would bring the district to the maximum general fund budget allowed by law. Currently, the high school district operates at nearly 91% of the maximum allowable budget and the elementary district at 99%.

“They just want to ask for full funding and that way subsequent levies won’t be as much,” Williams said.

“We haven’t passed a high school levy since 2007 that’s why it’s so big,” she added.

The district hired LSW Architects and RIFF Creative Studios to provide communication strategy services in publicizing the levies and the district’s reasoning for the requests. Those services could cost the district $15,000, depending on how much time and effort go into the campaign. It will be paid for using money not directly generated by taxation, such as investment earnings, according to Kalispell Superintendent Micah Hill.

The decision to request these levy amounts was a unanimous one at a Feb. 28 school board meeting following a discussion about budget shortages in both the elementary and high school districts during the 2023-24 school year taking into consideration increases in salaries, utilities and property liability insurance. There is a deficit in the district’s self-funded insurance program as well.

Also factoring into the request is that Covid-19 relief dollars from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, which has previously supplemented the budget, ends September 2024, and that money has been committed, Williams said.

On the elementary side, there has also been a drop in enrollment, which is tied to how much state funding a district receives. Williams said the change in enrollment is due in part to people moving to less expensive areas and enrolling students in outlying districts.

If the levies didn’t pass would there be cuts?

“Possibly, yeah, that’s what we’re trying to do right now is figure out how much we would have to cut, but the high school, in particular, can’t continue to go on with 90%,” Williams said. “We’re trying to bring up especially classified staff to a wage that is comparable to other jobs. We can’t lose [paraeducators] because they can go to a restaurant and make, you know, the same amount of money plus tips. Especially here because it’s a higher-cost area.”

Williams noted that competitive salaries attract quality teachers to live and work in Kalispell.

“We would ask for public support for our schools,” said Diane Morton Stout, vice chair of the school board. “We’re looking out for what is best for our students.”

ALSO APPEARING on the ballot are contested races in the high school and elementary districts.

In the high school district, there are two open trustee positions for three-year terms. One of the open seats represents Marion, Olney-Bissell, Pleasant Valley, Smith Valley and West Valley schools. The other open seat represents Evergreen and Helena Flats schools.

In the elementary district, there are two trustee positions open for three-year terms.

March 30 is the deadline trustee candidates may withdraw from the election or for people to file the paperwork to be write-in candidates.

The school district will hold a mail ballot election. Ballots will be mailed out to active, registered voters April 17.

This year, people who need to obtain a ballot or want to deliver their ballot will need to go to the school district’s transportation building located at 514 E. Washington St. The location change is to improve accessibility to people with disabilities.

Ballots are due by 8 p.m. May 2, which is Election Day.

Another change in this school election year is that ballots will be mailed to the Flathead County Election Department, where they will be counted using ballot tabulators to automate and expedite the process. Williams will still serve as the designated election administrator.

“I am appreciative of the county working with us with the ballot tabulators,” Williams said.

It represents a compromise between the Election Department and Kalispell Public Schools’ 2022 request that the county election administrator take over school elections. Columbia Falls School District also made a similar request. Some of the reasoning was due to the size of the school districts. The request also followed problems both districts ran into involving the number of ballots that went out to voters.

Previously, the district received mailed ballots, which would then be taken to the Election Department for signature verification. After verifying signatures, the ballots would be returned to the school district where they’d be hand-counted by hired election judges.

“Last year we were here until 1 a.m.,” Williams said.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.