Kalispell voters will see a $1.1 million general fund levy on the ballot in May to support Kalispell Public Schools’ elementary district. 

The board of trustees set the $1,102,296 amount Tuesday after the state released final revenue numbers, which determines the district’s maximum budget authority. The money will cover a projected budget deficit and allow the district’s six elementary schools to maintain school operations. Without it, the district faces budget cuts. 

General fund levies cover the day-to-day costs of operating schools, from utilities to salaries. The elementary district encompasses six elementary schools and the middle school. 

“The levy really cannot be more important. If it doesn’t pass, well, we’re going to have to do a lot of work to figure out how to right-size the budget,” District Business and Finance Director Chris Campbell said. 

If the levy is approved, owners of homes with an assessed market value of $300,000 can expect annual taxes to increase by $28.12. For owners of homes valued at $600,000, annual taxes are anticipated to increase by $60.06. General fund levies are permanent. 

FACTORING INTO the projected deficit are health insurance increases and declining enrollment, which is directly tied to the amount of state funding districts receive per pupil. Campbell anticipates health insurance will increase by 5.5% based on actuarial projections. 

Vice chair Jinnifer Mariman and trustee Rebecca Linden emphasized that despite less state funding coming from declining enrollment, fixed operational costs remain for the district’s six elementary schools and the middle school. 

“The amount of money we get goes down, but the price of overhead does not go down,” Linden said. “We get paid per student, so we're getting less money, but have the same amount of, you know, teachers, administrators and maintenance and snow removal, everything, so I think that’s going to be a hard sell. 

The last levy passed in the elementary district was a 10-year $1,087,000 million technology levy that narrowly approved in 2024. 

Mariman reiterated the board’s desire to get into the habit of making levy requests every other year. 

“... So that our voters understand that every other year we’re going to need to do this routine care, right? Not an emergency rescue, but routine care,” she said. 

 Mariman said going years without a levy creates a snowball effect.  

“Remember, we only get funded 80%," Mariman said, with school districts responsible for raising the other 20%. 

In a Jan. 30 Daily Inter Lake article, Campbell noted the disparity between per-pupil state funding for elementary students versus high school students, receiving $1,500 less in state funding to spend on an elementary student’s education. This is compounded by state accreditation standards mandating smaller class sizes at the elementary level, which in turn requires more teachers. 

“These [levies] are intended and crafted by our Montana Legislature, and again, these aren’t the rules we make but we have to play by," Mariman said.  

DURING PUBLIC comment prior to the board’s vote, Hedges Elementary teacher, business owner and homeowner, Shelli Hilde, expressed frustration over the state of education funding. 

“I’m frustrated as a business owner, because we spend tens and tens of thousands of dollars on taxes ... and also as a homeowner and a landowner we always foot the bill for this,” Hilde said. 

She also expressed frustration over heavy workloads as teachers and paraprofessionals, who she said are not adequately compensated. Hilde, said more teachers are facing burnout from larger classes and increasing behavior problems in the classroom that she felt new or inexperienced teachers are not equipped to handle.   

“We have to do better with our teachers and not cut the paras, not cut the teachers. We need to look sometimes to cut at the top. And I’m not going to be popular. I get it. I get it. I’m going to say it. And I think we have to close a building. We shouldn’t be buying more buildings,” Hilde said. 

Hilde, who attended the meeting with her husband and twin sister, who also addressed the board, said as generational Montanans, it’s becoming harder to work and live in the valley.  

“I want my grandkids here and I’m very passionate about this. We have to do better,” she said. 

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or [email protected].