School elections are May 5. Here is a roundup of what’s on the ballot in area districts, including Helena Flat, Fair-Mont-Egan, Deer Park and Cayuse Prairie. 

As Helena Flats School outgrows its current building, it's planning for future expansion needs by asking voters to approve a $672,157 building reserve levy to purchase land.  

Helena Flats Superintendent Andy Maheras said that with a few students enrolling recently, enrollment has reached about 300 students in a building meant for a capacity of 250.  

While some schools have experienced enrollment declines, Helena Flats’ enrollment has increased steadily since 2021, and is up 19% compared to 2016, gaining 47 students, according to the 2025 Flathead County Statistical Report of Schools.  

If approved, the 10-year levy would fund the purchase of 10 acres of farmland directly across from the school, including a parcel at 880 Rose Crossing owned by Dirk Lybeck and an adjacent parcel owned by a Lybeck family trust. A separate ballot question will ask voters to authorize the land purchase. 

The proposed levy would increase annual property taxes by $24.88 for a home valued at $300,000 and $72.04 for a $600,000 home. 

Maheras said the timing of the levy request aligns with 2007 bond issue that will be paid off July 1, 2027, allowing the district to offset the impact on taxpayers. 

Maheras said that discussions on acquiring more property have been ongoing for about a year and a half as the region continues to develop.  

“The whole purpose of getting this property is to plan for the future, knowing that as the valley grows and more — and more developments are happening east of Kalispell and coming north to Columbia Falls. We’re having a bunch of them go up through here and some more down off Helena Flats to the south that, because we’re landlocked, we don’t have any other place to go that is a prime opportunity to maintain our location," he said. 

The building reserve levy is solely for purchasing land.  

Any construction would require future voter approval through a bond issue. Possible uses for the site include classrooms and community space.  

“If we don’t get the land, the other option is much more expensive, and that would be to add on or remodel this structure,” Maheras said. “And it eliminates a lot of the green space that we have for kids and community members to play on.”  

FAIR-MONT-EGAN VOTERS will decide two issues — a $250,000 technology levy and a $140,380 general fund levy.  

The levies will help address a projected budget deficit of $250,000 for the 2026-27 school year. 

Money generated from a technology levy may go toward purchasing, renting, repairing and maintaining equipment such as computers, security, networks, cloud-based or subscription-based services or professional development, for example.  Fair-Mont-Egan has outlined that the technology levy will be used to replace devices reaching the end of their lifespan; cybersecurity and online curriculum. 

The duration of the technology levy will be five years. If approved, owners of homes valued at $300,000 can anticipate an annual tax increase of $16.37. Owners of a home valued at $600,000 can expect a $34.97 increase. 

“Approval of this levy contributes to reducing the operating budget deficit,” according to levy information posted to its website. 

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, curriculum and supplies, utilities, technology and maintenance.  General fund levies are permanent. 

Fair-Mont-Egan plans to use money to support salaries and staff retention, address inflationary operational costs and minimize multi-grade class configurations, according to the district. 

Passage of the $140,380 general fund levy would mean an annual property tax increase of $52.22 on a home valued at $300,000 and $111.57 for a home valued at $600,000. 

The school has scheduled informational meetings about the levies at 8 a.m. April 1 and at 6 p.m. April 27. The school is located at 797 Fairmont Road, Kalispell. 

DEER PARK is seeking voter approval of $110,000 general fund levy to also keep up the rising operation costs and salaries in consideration of fluctuating enrollment with the possibility of adding a maintenance position. 

Deer Park Superintendent and Principal Charlie Wiest said the school experienced a surge in enrollment, which peaked at 199 students in 2022, followed by a decline. Enrollment is tied directly to how much state funding a school receives. Although the state allows districts to average three years of enrollment numbers to account for fluctuations that affect the budget, that three-year period has come to an end, Wiest said. Current enrollment stands at 170 K-8 students. 

“Our budget next year, is decreasing by almost $13,000,” he said. 

If the levy doesn’t pass, cuts and fees may be on the horizon. 

“We're looking at our athletic program — having to cut some of those [sports], or charge fee for those,” Weist said.  

The school currently offers volleyball, basketball and cross country. 

“We'd have to reduce our staff numbers too. We haven't looked at which staff members yet... possibly paraprofessional positions,” he said. 

Deer Park’s before and after school care program would also be on the chopping block. 

"We do charge a fee, but we subsidize it too from our budget,” he said. 

Staff cuts may affect classroom sizes. 

“Right now, with our current staff we are able to keep classroom sizes low. We have a great staff and we want to make sure we keep them and are able to provide the education we have for the last few years,” he said, noting that Deer Park was named a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in 2023 for its academic performance in closing achievement gaps. 

If the $110,000 general fund levy passes, owners of homes valued at $300,000 can anticipate an annual tax increase of $53.57. Owners of homes valued at $600,000 can expect a $123.12 increase. 

Cayuse Prairie is also putting a general fund levy on its ballot. 

The K-8 school seeks voter approval of a $300,000 general fund levy to hire staff, retain positions, fund salary increases and maintain current student programs.  

For homeowners, passage of the levy would increase annual property taxes by $62.56 on a home valued at $300,000 and $181.10 on a $600,000 home.   

Voters will only decide the issues in the school district where they reside. School elections are conducted by mail by the Flathead County Elections Department. Ballots will be mailed to active, registered voters within and the April 15-20 window.  

Reporter Hilary Matheson can be reached at 406-758-4431 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.