Libby residents turned down a $350,000 operating levy that school district officials said was critical to maintaining state accreditation. On Tuesday night, election officials counted 936 ballots for the levy and 1,149 against it.
The school district will now face the full force of a $700,000 budget shortfall during the 2013 and 2014 academic year. This year, four teachers have retired and 14 non-tenured teachers were informed last month that they may not have a job at the end of the school year.
“The levy isn’t just about keeping our standard of education up, it’s about keeping us out of the hole,” said Superintendent K.W. Maki.
The last time a school levy passed was in 2002. In 2011, a bond and levy both failed by wide margins.