St. Regis residents submitted their votes Tuesday for the general fund school levy. The $36,201,95 levy passed by a slim 75-71 margin.

The purpose of the St. Regis school levy is to maintain the current budget for maintenance and operation of the school. The levy would approximately give St. Regis an added $11.49 million to keep the school functioning properly.

The results of the levy vote will be sent to the St. Regis school board Wednesday June 29 for the certification of the results. The school board will check with the election judges in St. Regis and the West End and will check to make sure the results match and are correct. The passing of the levy is not official until the school board confirms the results.

After the St. Regis school board confirms the results, a recount petition can be filled out within five school days of the school board’s decision. The petition must have at least 10 signatures to be valid.

Tina Hill, business manager at the St. Regis School District said since she started in 2006 she has never dealt with a recount or any hang up in certification process.

“I haven’t seen it happen,” Hill said.

Hill said without the levy, the school would be down nearly $23,000 for the coming fiscal year, which runs from July to June. The $36,201.95 levy covers the base need of $23,000 and also covers the increased expenses going into the next year.

Hill said just like everyone’s personal expenses, the school needs the money for fuel, groceries, heating and other essential to run the school. No new hires will be made from the new levy.

“Society as a whole has higher costs,” Hill said. “And it is magnified at the school.”

The levy vote is usually planned to happen the same time as the trustee elections each May. However, with 2011 being a legislative year in the state legislature, the levy vote could be pushed back, and that is what the St. Regis school board decided to do.

Hill said the school board wanted to wait to see what the Montana legislature would do. What the Montana legislature did was sign a school budget, which let the St. Regis school board to ask for the $36,201.95.

The St. Regis school board is only allowed to ask for so much money, Hill said. The amount is set by the legislature and enforced by the Office of Public Instruction, the governing authority of the school board.

In the close election, Hill said the she was encouraged by the turnout of the voters.

“I’m thankful for them for turning out,” Hill said of the community members. “There was even an increase in absentee ballots this year.”

A total of 788 registered voters live in the St. Regis area. St. Regis has 570 and the West End has 218 to make up the total potential voting pool.

Hill said 82 absentee voters registered for the levy vote, which is an increase from nearly 28 absentee voters in the last levy election.

The last general fund school levy for St. Regis happen in June of 2009. That year, the $7,200 levy passed. In 2010, St. Regis residents voted on a building reserve fund levy that also passed to upgrade the school. The focus of the building reserve fund levy is to upgrade the old boilers that heat the school.