MISSOULA – Missoula County Public Schools Trustees approved a secondary school levy to appear on the May 7 ballot to support the high school operations budget. This will be a mail-in election with ballots being mailed out April 17.
The operations levy is for $118,986 and will cost taxpayers $1.55 on a $200,000 home. Due to the restoration of state funding that was reduced in the 2017 special session, this is a$1.02 increase on a $200,000 home.
Schools are required to raise a portion of their budgets through a voter-approved levy. When the need has arisen, Missoula taxpayers have passed operations levies for the past 18 years.
The voted levy helps MCPS fund operational expenditures up to its maximum budget beyond what the state provides for the base budget. Operations levies have allowed the District to sustain continued success toward important student outcomes like:
• In 2017-18, MCPS met an 87.8 percent four-year cohort graduation rate with a four percent drop out rate.
• By January of 2019, MCPS’s STAR assessment data showed one high school increased student achievement by six percent of students reaching Above Proficiency in reading.
• MCPS high school students compete at the state, regional, national and international levels in high school athletics, Speech and Debate, DECA, Business Professionals of America (BPA), Robotics, Choir, Band and Orchestra.
• MCPS Juniors performed a point higher than the state average on the ACT test.
• Taxpayer investment allows MCPS to maintain 21st Century Strategic Investments in programs such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Career and Technology Education, International Baccalaureate, Agricultural Education, Dual Language Immersion, Dual Credit, and Advanced Placement.
The Operations levies also pay for utilities, supplies, and curriculum and teaching materials.
Operations levies represent a 20 percent investment in our maximum budget. This additional 20 percent allows the District to sustain the current level of staffing and programs.
“We have seen steady increases in student enrollment and in the cost in the cost of goods and services,” noted Superintendent Mark Thane. “Our enrollment in the high schools has grown by more than 100 students in the past three years. These levies help us support additional students and keep up with inflation.”
Ballots will be mailed on April 17, 2018. All ballots must be returned on or before Tuesday, May 7. The nearest ballot drop-off locations are Clinton Elementary and Potomac Elementary. There is currently no drop off location available in Seeley Lake.
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