Page 12 - Flathead Beacon // 5.13.15

12 | MAY 13, 2015 NEWS FLATHEADBEACON.COM School Levies Passed in Somers-Lakeside,
Voters approved mill levies for maintenance and enrollment needs, elect trustees
By BEACON STAFF
Voters residing in both the Somers- Lakeside and Whitefish school districts cast mail ballots in favor of special levy requests during a May 5 school election.
Somers-Lakeside requested a gener- al fund mill levy worth $185,000 annu- ally, or 7.29 mills, which voters approved 661 to 444. Property taxes will increase by $19.09 for homes valued at $200,000.
According to administrators, the funding measure will address a laundry list of safety and emergency upgrades, long-standing maintenance projects and potential staffing needs, with asbes- tos abatement as a top priority.
The funds will benefit both Lakeside Elementary and Somers Middle School, although the highest priorities lie in Somers, where a site that was built in the early 1950s and last upgraded in the
1990s has fallen further into disrepair, according to administrators.
Hoping to provide a transparent ex- planation of the district’s needs, Super- intendent Paul Jenkins has included a list of specific projects and estimated costs on the district’s website, http:// www.somersdist29.org. A tax calculator is also available to show potential im- pacts on property taxes.
Whitefish’s elementary district requested a general fund levy worth $36,000, which voters approved 980 to 536.
Whitefish voters also re-elected in- cumbent chairwoman Pat Jarvi and elected Marguerite Kaminski to three- year terms on the school board repre- senting the elementary district. Jarvi received 1,009 votes, or 40 percent of the vote; Kaminski received 851, or 34 per- cent; and Bob Auerbach received 653, or 26 percent.
Whitefish voter turnout was 15.8 percent. Of the 9,666 registered voters, 1,529 ballots were cast.
Administrators sought the increase in funding to address increased enroll- ment. Property taxes will increase $1.86
Students eat lunch at Somers Middle School in the cafeteria where tiles are peeling off the floor.
Whitefish School Districts
GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
for homes valued at $200,000.
In the Bigfork School District, voters
elected Christina Relyea with 528 votes to a three-year term representing the el- ementary district. Incumbent Maureen Averill received 491 votes.
In a Flathead Valley Community College trustee election, Callie Lan- gohr, of Kalispell, was elected to a three- year term for the Flathead/Glacier High School District. Langohr received 2,698 votes while Terry Kramer received 1,908.
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