Missoula County Public High School Levy

MISSOULA - The Missoula County Public School Board of Trustees approved an operations levy for the high school district at their March 29 board meeting. The levy will appear on the school election ballot being mailed April 13 and must be returned to the Missoula County Elections Office by May 3. This will be an all-mail election.

The high school levy amount of $525,962, which is approximately 2.04 mills, will cost $2.76/year per $100,000 in assessed property value.

“Local levies help us support additional students as our community grows while maintaining important school programs,” Tyler Christensen, Missoula County Public Schools Communications Specialist, said in a press release. “Missoula County voters have supported local levies for many years, and most recently approved operations levies for MCPS in 2019.”

Christensen added that since 2019, MCPS has seen an overall increase in student enrollment and in the cost of goods and services.

Today, MCPS serves over 9,000 students in Missoula County. The enrollment in the high schools has grown by more than 150 students over the past three school years, Christensen stated. Enrollment at Seeley-Swan High School has increased from 89 in 2019, according to information on the Montana Office of Public website, to 105 per SSHS Principal Shawn Holmes.

“The levy will help with the climbing enrollment both here and throughout MCPS,” Holmes said. “It will also help cover our travel in athletics which has been in the red the last few years. Dr. Watson is also looking at teacher housing both here and for the rest of the district.”

“The past three years have also brought several unique educational challenges,” Christensen said in the press release. “Thanks to dedicated staff, MCPS has been able to provide critical programs, such as those that address student mental health and learning loss. The operations levies will help us to continue these programs and help pay for utilities, supplies, curriculum and instructional materials.”