EAST HELENA — The East Helena Public Schools School Board has requested a mill levy to support the district’s general fund. East Helena voters will see a $392,000 levy on their ballots, with the district hoping to return the schools to pre-pandemic staffing and scheduling levels.
“We struggle to meet our basic obligations to provide a quality education for our kids and do things like pay staff appropriately and at a competitive level,” said Superintendent Dan Rispens.
Madelyn Heath reports - watch the video here:
The district operates its general fund budget at around 85 percent of the maximum budget allowed by law.
If passed, the levy will support at least five additional full-time teachers, more flexible schedules in the middle and high schools, expanded electives, more special education support, and smaller class sizes across all grade levels.
Rispens noted, “Staff feels like this is going to help with student engagement, student learning, and hopefully that translates into better test scores and higher graduation rates, all those things.
The school district says the estimated cost is between $4 and $6 per month for the average East Helena homeowner. These are rough estimates because tax bills do not get set until later this fall.
“The board is very sensitive to the fact that folks have been enduring a high level of property taxes in the last several years, and so they are resistant to asking for too much, but at the same time they feel like that’s something that is important for our kids,” Rispens said.
The public will have the chance to learn more about the levy and school funding in general at an information night scheduled for 6:30 pm on April 21.
Rispens explained, “This money that we are asking for from taxpayers is going to be turned into salaries, which is going to get cycled through the local economy several times.”
Ballots are set to go out on April 17, and election day is May 5.
