Mill levy, trustee votes important to community
Guest column / By Polson superintendent Sue McCormick
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 is Election Day! This spring the Polson School Board will run a mill levy as well as a trustee election for four open positions on the Board. The election of trustees who serve on the school Board is very important to everyone in our community.
The Polson school mill levy election is also critically important to everyone in our community. At election time of year especially, people often have questions about the mill levy. Because questions are great tools for organizing information, I decided to use the most frequently asked questions from parents and community members as organizing ideas for this article.
Q: What is a local school district mill levy election?
A: A local mill levy election is a request from the Board of Trustees to the taxpayers in a school district community for funds needed to operate and maintain the community’s schools. The funds are generated through local property tax assessments.
Q: Why is the Polson School Board running a mill levy election this year for the elementary and high school districts?
A: Although the State of Montana provides funding to all school districts, state funding does not cover all school district costs. Local tax dollars generated by mill levies are needed to operate our schools.
Q: How much money will be raised this year with the approved elementary and high school mill levies?
A: The elementary mill levy will generate $206,368.66 for Linderman Elementary School, Cherry Valley Elementary School and the Polson Middle School. The high school mill levy will generate $111,828.80 for Polson High School.
: What do mill levy dollars pay for in the schools and the district?
A: Money from mill levies helps pay for maintaining and operating local schools and district facilities. Mill levy dollars help pay for salaries and wages for staff, classroom supplies and equipment, maintenance supplies and equipment, and utilities, to list some of the educational expenses paid with mill levy dollars.
Q: How much will the school portion of Polson property taxes increase if this levy is approved?
A: Since property taxes are calculated on a property-by-property basis, the following increases are close approximations of property tax increases for the Polson elementary and high school districts:
Elementary:
? A home valued at $100,000 would generate an increase of about $14.90 per year.
? A home valued at $200,000 would generate an increase of about $29.80 per year.
? A home valued at $300,000 would generate an increase of about $ 44.70 per year.
High School:
? A home valued at $100,000 would generate an increase of about $6.69 per year.
? A home valued at $200,000 would generate an increase of about $13.39 per year.
? A home valued at $300,000 would generate an increase of about $20.08 per year.
: What if the mill levy is not approved by our community? What will be the financial impact on the schools’ and district budget?
A: The increase in the state funding portion of school budgets for the 2008 - 09 school year is only 1.9%, but the cost of running schools is increasing significantly. For example, the average salary and wage increase for school district staff is 4%. Costs for heating, food, classroom and maintenance supplies are also increasing. The School District must budget for these increases.
If the elementary levy is not approved the shortfall in the elementary budget will be approximately $149,682
If the elementary school levy is approved the K-8 schools will be provided approximately $56,707 additional funds to address the growing instructional needs of our students. If the high school levy is not approved the shortfall in the high school budget will be approximately $107,202
If the high school levy is approved the High School will have approximately $28,632 additional funds to address the growing instructional needs of our students.
Q: When is the mill levy election?
A: The election is May 6, 2008.
Q: Where are the polling places?
A: All precincts will vote at the Linderman Gym.
Q: What hours are the polls open?
A: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
In closing I want to thank this community for all the ways you support the students and schools in Polson, including but certainly not limited to ongoing approval of local mill levies. Our community has a long, proud history of providing quality educational programs. This proud history is due to the fact that people in Polson understand the connection between healthy communities, healthy kids and quality schools. I’m grateful for your dedication to the children and young people of Polson and to the promise of a healthy future for our community.