Two levies will be on the May ballot for Kalispell Public Schools

Kalispell Public Schools is putting a high school general fund levy and an elementary technology levy on the May ballot for amounts that still fall short of covering a looming budget deficit.

Administrators and the members of the school board said they set the amounts to be raised with inflation at the top of their minds.

“We don’t want to overburden the community,” Kalispell Public Schools Board of Trustees Chair Heather Asher said.

But “You can only operate like this for so long,” she said.

The high school general fund levy request amounts to $700,000. A general fund levy covers the day-to-day costs of operating a school from utilities to textbooks and salaries. The levy would be permanent.

If approved, annual taxes would increase by $12.04 for the owner of a home with an assessed value of $300,000. The owner of a house with an assessed value of $600,000 can expect annual taxes to increase by $24.08. 

In the best-case scenario, the high school district faces a $1.9 million budget deficit, said Chris Campbell, district business director and clerk.

“We’re not looking to be fully funded right now,” Kalispell Superintendent Matt Jensen said. “What we’re asking is to make a dent in the inflationary increases that we’ve seen. What we’re looking at is $1 a month [for property with an assessed value of $300,000]. We thought most folks could resonate with this request.”

School officials affirmed the levy amount will fund the current staffing level in the high schools. If it doesn’t pass, the district may not fill four or more teaching positions through attrition where possible.

“We’re aware of everybody feeling the pinch. We want the community to know we’re feeling it as a school district as well,” Asher said.

“These are our neighbors and these are our kids,” she added.

As fellow taxpayers, Asher said the financial hardship people may face is not lost on trustees.

“It hits us like everybody else,” she said.

“Inflation has impacted everybody,” Jensen said. “And we’ve struggled to pass a levy since 2007.”

“We receive the lowest amount of local funding per student out of AA schools in the state,” Asher noted.

Compared to other AA districts in Montana, Kalispell spends $7,653.57 to educate a student. The next highest is Billings at $8,275.07, according to Campbell. 

“Kalispell high schools have been running incredibly efficiently for years and … we’re not trying to ask for a bunch of luxury items that we don’t need. We’re just asking to have an equal seat at the table with other AA’s across the state,” he said.

FOR THE elementary district, voters will decide a $1,087,000 technology levy. The technology levy will replace an existing one that expires June 30. The duration of technology levies is 10 years. 

“It’s a straight renewal. If it’s approved, the current tax rate will be kept,” Jensen said.

The current tax rate of the existing technology levy that expires in June stands at $45.77 for owners of homes valued at $300,00 and $91.53 for homes with an assessed value of $600,000.

As the name implies, funds go toward technology expenses not limited to computers and devices. Funds may be used for a bevy of tech-related expenses to maintain networks, internet access, security and subscription/fee-based software, apps and cloud storage, for example.

Technology touches everything in how modern schools operate — curriculum, testing, grading, lesson planning, scheduling and communicating. The cost to administer mandated annual state tests and collect state-required data falls to districts.

“Going out for the tech levy is ensuring essentially that we can provide the technology resources that will ensure our students are proficient and competent in the technology world when they graduate,” Campbell said.

“We’re not going to go backward on technology, right?” he said. “Nobody trades in their landline for a cell phone, uses the cellphone for a couple of months, and says, ‘Now I think I’m going to trade it back for the landline.’”

THE TOTAL deficit of the high school and elementary districts, which operate on separate budgets, could be up to $3 million, according to Campbell. The district is still putting the pieces together on a final budget with contract negotiations underway for teachers, custodians and maintenance staff. 

New superintendent Jensen’s contract was approved March 18 and includes a $180,000 salary with a 2% increase on the base and a cost-of-living adjustment comparable to other district personnel effective July 1, 2025 and July 1, 2026. Jensen replaces interim Superintendent Randy Cline, who resigned March 31. Jensen agreed to be paid at his assistant superintendent rate plus $10,732.26 through June, which saves the district $33,017.74 in addition to a reduction of not paying benefits for Cline.

With a looming budget deficit, the district offered a retirement incentive this year, looking at reducing expenditures through attrition. Attrition means not replacing positions where people retire or resign. Campbell said 15 employees took the incentive and will retire at the end of the year.

“That will certainly help us along, but it definitely won’t get us all the way home budget-wise,” he said.

Drawing a line between cutting staff or programs is not clear-cut since the two are intertwined.

“Schools depend on annual levies in order to stay funded,” Jensen said. 

Asher said school budgets are complex and has noticed many misconceptions circulating on social media. 

“It’s taken me three years to get a grasp on this,” she said, encouraging anyone with budget questions to reach out to administrators or trustees. 

“We want our community to know we’re doing our very best and we’re cognizant of the reality of where everybody’s budget is at,” Asher said. “Our ask is really just to keep us afloat,”

About 36,482 ballots will be mailed out to active, registered voters April 22. Ballots are due at the district on election day, May 7. 

In addition to mailing, ballots may be dropped off at the Kalispell Public Schools Auxiliary Administration Office, 514 E. Washington St., Kalispell. The office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. On election day, the office will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Kalispell residents vote on both elementary and high school ballot issues. Residents living in 13 surrounding partner school districts whose students attend Flathead and Glacier high schools vote on high school ballot issues only.

In the last school election called for by Kalispell Public Schools in October 2023, voters rejected four levies including a $1.5 million elementary district safety levy, a $1.6 elementary district technology levy, a $1.6 million high school district safety levy and a $1 million high school technology levy. 

In the high school district, a levy of any type hasn’t passed since 2007. 

Kalispell Public Schools educates approximately 6,148 K-12 graders.

“Our job is to determine what type of education we want our kids to have who live in our community,” Jensen said, referring to the larger community.

For more information call the school district at 751-3400. To calculate a property’s assessed value visit the Montana Department of Revenue website at https://svc.mt.gov/dor/property.

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

*Editor's note — This story has been updated to clarify the current tax rate on an existing elementary technology levy will be maintained, not increased, if renewed.