Condon voters to decide on school levies

For the first time in 12 years, Swan Valley School in Condon is presenting voters with two levies to vote on.

A combination of factors like rising costs, increased need for technology to support education, a drop in enrollment and the loss of ESSER funds — money provided during the covid-19 pandemic to support schools — led to a general fund and technology levy to be presented to voters in a special election on May 7.

“​​Our school has navigated the difficulties of staffing needs, the rising costs associated with maintaining a high standard of education, budgets that have not kept pace with inflation and a noticeable increase in the academic needs of our students,” the district explained in a letter to voters. “These levies are instrumental in ensuring that we can continue to provide an environment conducive to learning and growth amidst these challenges.”

School budgets are driven by enrollment. Twice a year students are counted and the total is sent to the state Office of Public Instruction, which determines school budgets. Schools use a three-year rolling average of enrollment to level out the impacts of enrollment changes on the budget. OPI provides schools with two budget considerations: their maximum budget with a voted levy and a maximum budget without.

Seeley Lake Elementary School and Swan Valley School Business Manager Heather Mincey said Seeley Elementary’s maximum and minimum budgets are currently the same, so they aren’t able to ask voters for any increase. Swan Valley School came up with a $10,000 difference, meaning the school’s highest budget without a vote is $10,000 less than what it could be with a vote.

“It’s not a lot, but for a small district, it is,” Mincey said.

The difference is realized from a reduction in enrollment of three students at Swan Valley School. Overall, the school has 28 students. Mincey said the school would see a budget decline without the levy passing.

The total amount of general fund money being put to taxpayers to vote on is $10,043.58. This would cost a taxpayer $2.57 per year if they owned a house valued at $100,000, $5.13 per year for a house valued at $200,000 and $15.39 per year for a house valued at $600,000. This would be a permanent levy, meaning taxpayers would pay their relevant amounts each year.

The technology levy is set at $10,000 for ten years and is meant to support the district’s technology needs that were formerly funded by ESSER money. For a house valued at $100,000 it would cost a taxpayer $2.55 per year, $5.11 per year for a house valued at $200,000 and $15.32 per year for a house valued at $600,000.

ESSER funds provided schools with the infrastructure needed to support different forms of technology — ChromeBooks, online curriculum — that became crucial during the remote learning that accompanied the covid-19 pandemic. Those funds expire after this school year, but the technological learning implements and tech support are still needed as education continues to use these elements.

The $10,000 would help pay for the tech support Swan Valley School receives from a Missoula-based company, online subscriptions and updates to ChromeBooks and other forms of technology used in classrooms. Using the technology fund for this request takes some of the pressure off the general fund, which is used for employee salaries and benefits among other things.

Voters with more questions on the levies can contact Swan Valley School at 406-754-2320. Voters can drop off their ballots before election day at the Missoula County Elections Office or at Swan Valley School on election day.