Swan River Levy Passes, Columbia Falls Bond Fails
Voters approved a $1.5 million building reserve levy for the rural K-8 school but rejected a $75.9 million high school bond for the second time
By Mariah Thomas
Voters in Flathead County split on two school funding requests Tuesday night, approving a $1.5 million building reserve levy for the rural K-8 Swan River School and rejecting a second attempt at a bond to renovate Columbia Falls High School, according to final, unofficial election results.
Swan River levy passed narrowly, 293 to 250. It is the only school funding request to win approval from Flathead County voters this year amid a challenging environment for levies in Montana.
“Gratitude is the first thing that comes to mind,” said Josh Lee, the school’s principal, on Wednesday morning.
Swan River School’s levy differed from others that have gone on the ballot in that it wasn’t meant to shore up the district’s general fund, which pays for staffing and building operations. It was aimed specifically at short- and long-term maintenance.
The district’s most pressing problem has been heating. Last year, the school spent $662,000 to replace nine heat pumps in the building, which wiped out the district’s funding for major maintenance projects. But Swan River School has a set of four furnaces first installed in 1998 that run heat to eight classrooms on the elementary side of the school building. Lee previously told the Beacon the school has been lucky the furnaces have continued to work for so long but didn’t see luck as a viable long-term plan. Board chair Luke Adamson also described security and plumbing needs the district would be capable of addressing with the levy funding.
With the levy approved, Lee said the board will begin planning the furnace project by reaching out to contractors and taking bids.
In the valley’s northern end, Columbia Falls voters rejected a bond to renovate the high school.
“It’s not the results we were looking for, but it is feedback from our community,” said Cory Dziowgo, the Columbia Falls superintendent.
The bond failed 61% to 39%, with 2,430 against and 1,547 in favor. It was Columbia Falls’ second try at asking taxpayers to approve the improvements. The bond’s failure comes even as the district cut $9 million from its last bond figure and a political action committee, called the Wild PAC, formed to support it.
Statewide, bond passage rates have been less consistent than levy results, though voters appear to have cooled on bond measures as well.
Dziowgo said the high school’s needs remain. The board will consider next steps in the coming months, but no timeline has been set. Dziowgo said he appreciated everyone involved in the efforts to pass the bond and took the time to weigh in on the issue.