Montana School Funding Levies Pass in Bozeman, Missoula and Butte, Fail in Three Other Cities
Why It Matters
Montana school districts are navigating growing difficulty securing local voter approval for education funding, a trend with direct consequences for teacher compensation, staff retention, and district budgets across the state.
What Happened
Voters across Montana’s largest cities delivered a split verdict on school funding levies Tuesday, with measures succeeding in Bozeman, Missoula, and Butte while failing in Helena, Billings, and Kalispell.
In Bozeman, both an elementary and a high school district levy cleared the threshold. The elementary measure drew roughly 64% support across approximately 14,000 ballots cast; the high school levy passed with about 61% approval across some 16,000 ballots. Both measures together will generate $1.8 million annually, directed toward employee pay and benefits.
By the Numbers
- 64% — Share of Bozeman voters approving the elementary levy
- 61% — Share approving the Bozeman high school levy
- $1.8 million — Annual revenue the Bozeman levies will generate
- $25 annually — Estimated new cost per $600,000 home under the new levy (up from $16 under the expiring bond)
- 3% — Salary increase the levy would fund for Bozeman union employees, along with a $1,500 annual living stipend
Bozeman’s Deliberate Approach
Bozeman school officials structured the new levy to match the $1.8 million annual cost of a 2006 bond — used for renovations to Bozeman High School — that the district recently finished paying off. The intent was to replace an expiring obligation with a levy of equal size, rather than asking residents for a net increase in school funding.
However, because the school district’s boundaries have contracted since 2006 — the Big Sky area is no longer included — there are fewer property owners to share the cost. That makes the per-household burden slightly higher than the expiring bond, even though the total dollar amount is unchanged.
Michael Waterman, the district’s Executive Director of Business and Operations, said the school board weighed both the size and timing of the request carefully. “We’ve got a cost-of-living problem in our community, and it becomes a recruitment and retention issue for our staff,” Waterman said. He added that the board was equally mindful of the financial pressures facing voters themselves.
The approved funding will allow Bozeman to provide union employees a 3% salary increase along with a $1,500 annual living stipend — moves district officials say are necessary to compete for and keep qualified teachers in a high-cost market. Readers interested in related budget pressures facing state-funded programs can find more in our coverage of Montana’s Medicaid and doula reimbursement challenges.
Zoom Out
The mixed results reflect a broader pattern in Montana. Data compiled by the Montana School Boards Association shows that fewer districts are bringing local-option levies to voters, and the success rate for those that do has declined. School boards appear to be growing more selective about when and how much to ask for — in part because the political environment for education spending has become less favorable statewide.
What’s Next
Districts where levies failed — Helena, Billings, and Kalispell — will need to weigh budget adjustments or reconsider future levy proposals. For Bozeman, implementation of the approved compensation changes will move forward as the new funding takes effect. Whether the broader trend of levy failures prompts legislative discussion about school funding mechanisms remains to be seen.