Potential effects of SB307 discussed
Bill would allow school boards to approve levies without public vote
While additional funds are always welcome, superintendents commented that the extra 10 mills won’t necessarily help fix some of the more major school maintenance issues.
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
POLSON — School boards may receive the authority to raise funds for building maintenance without the approval of voters if SB 307 is signed by the governor.
Three area school superintendents discussed the legislation on May 5 at a Pachyderm Club meeting at the Polson Rural Fire District building.
Polson Schools Superintendent Rex Weltz said the bill provides $15,000 a year per district plus $100 per student if a school board decides to approve an increase. Next year the state will match the funding with coal tax revenue.
Although the superintendents welcome the change, they say the extra funding — 10 mills — won’t necessarily help fix some glaring maintenance problems.
St. Ignatius Schools Superintendent Jason Sargent said the extra funding represents $60,000, which he called “a drop in the bucket.” He said their elementary school needs $650,000 to repair cracks in the walls and roof and $8.5 million for all of its maintenance needs district-wide. He noted that voters turned down bonding requests for $5.4 and $5.6 million in recent years.
“Until we’re logging (in western Montana), we’re not going to have money for that,” he said.
Weltz said Polson Schools could get $190,000 a year if the school board approves such funding.
He said Cherry Valley Elementary needs $1.4 million to replace a 1957 boiler that was installed in 1963. The district was approved for a $1.2 million Quality Schools grant from the state this year that required a $200,000 match, but the grant wasn’t funded.
All school boards were required to advertise about a potential increase by June 1 this year in case they do approve a mill levy increase later in the year. In future years, the advertising deadline will be March 31.
Several in the audience suggested that the superintendents communicate with the public more frequently about school funding issues, including writing letters to the editor of local newspapers.
Weltz noted that the Legislature also approved other changes in school funding.
This will result in school block grants and natural resource development payments being discontinued in favor of expanded guaranteed tax base aid to be phased in over the next four years.
In what Weltz called “a very complicated formula,” the state will increase per student funding by one-half percent this year and 1.87 percent next year. Because enrollment in Polson Schools is declining, this will likely cost the elementary and high school districts a combined $177,000 this year, he said.
Ronan Schools Superintendent Mark Johnson said 100 percent of their general fund budget goes toward salaries. It’s 90 percent at Polson, Weltz said.
A retired teacher in the audience suggested the teachers forego some salary increases in order to fund maintenance projects. “Tell them, we won’t have a school if we don’t keep our pump going,” she said.
