Voters in Whitefish and Creston will vote whether to approve tax levy requests during the school election on May 3.
In Whitefish, school administrators are faced with a new structure for tax increment financing that is forcing the district to seek voter approval of a building reserve levy for the first time in nearly 30 years. The Montana Legislature last session passed House Bill 114, which changed the ways school district could use TIF funds, or incremental increases in property tax revenue that are earmarked for a fund that supports improvements in a designated district.
The school district is seeking $400,000 annually for seven years, or $2.8 million, for Muldown Elementary, the city’s lone elementary school, and $300,000 annually for seven years, or $2.1 million, for the high school.
If approved, annual property taxes could increase an estimated $36.50 for a home with a $200,000 assessed market value in both districts.
Whitefish School District Superintendent Heather Davis Schmidt said homeowners would most likely not see a complete $36.50 increase in property taxes because the TIF funds could offset any added costs from the levy.
Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., May 3 at the Whitefish School District Office in Whitefish Middle School.
Creston School District is seeking $15,000 annually for five years, or $75,000, to renovate and maintain its facilities. If approved, property taxes would increase $16.65 annually on a home with an assessed value of $200,000.
Polls will be open from noon to 8 p.m inside the school’s gymnasium.
The Marion School, which serves kindergarten through eighth grade, is seeking a general fund levy of $48,064 annually for day-to-day operations. If approved, taxes on a home worth $200,00 would increase $18.69.
Polls will be open from noon to 8 p.m. at the Marion Fire Department.
In Columbia Falls, two school trustee positions are up for election for three-year terms in the combined elementary and high school district. Benjamin Shafer, Elen Joy Hoerner and incumbents Barbara Riley and Larry Wilson are running.
Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Glacier Gateway Elementary School and Canyon Elementary School.
In Kalispell, two trustee seats with three-year terms are open in the elementary school, along with one two-year term seat. Diane Morton Stout and incumbents Anna Marie Bailey and Mary Tepas are seeking a three-year term and Rebecca Linden and Frank Miller are seeking a two-year term.
Kalispell is conducting a mail-in ballot election.
In Evergreen, Dave Lowitz, Brant Karlstad and Tamara Williams are seeking two seats with three-year terms. Polls will open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the school district’s administrative building at 18 West Evergreen Drive.
In Smith Valley, three candidates — Jerril Ren, Doni Bennett and Rand Norby — are running for two trustee seats with three-year terms. Three other candidates — incumbent Richard Frank Sutton, David Fairbank and Jonathan Sharpe — are running for one seat with a two-year term.
Polls will open from noon to 8 p.m. inside the school’s gym.