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Kalispell High School Levy Fails Again

By Beacon Staff

Voters overwhelmingly rejected a nearly $6-million school building reserve levy on Tuesday, marking the second time in two years that the levy for Kalispell high schools has failed.

According to the unofficial results from School District 5, 4,630 voters cast ballots against the levy, swamping the 2,975 in favor of the measure.

The proposed $5,978,500 levy would have gone toward building and facility repairs at Flathead and Glacier high schools, as well as other School District 5 buildings.

Administrators previously said that a significant portion of the money would have gone toward the fire suppression system at Flathead High School, which the Kalispell Fire Department determined is not up to code.

The levy would have allocated $1,195,700 to the school district each year for the next five years, supporting 637,000 square feet of building space and 87 acres of school property.

The unofficial results must be canvassed before they are declared official, which could happentoday. Todd Watkins, the school district’s director of operations and business services, wrote in an email that the results are not likely to change much.

Voters rejected a similar $4.1-million building reserve levy in 2009, which was the first time the five-year levy had failed since 1982.