Glasgow School Board Votes To Put Building Reserve Safety Levy On Ballot

Due to significant loss in enrollment, the Glasgow School District is experiencing a General Fund (GF) budget shortfall of $358,000. Also contributing to the budget shortfall are the inflationary increases to operating costs for the district. Legislative increases to school funding have fallen far short of the actual rate of inflation the past several years. This year, there is no option to run a GF levy due to the loss in enrollment and how the State funding formula works, and actually, the GF levies will be significantly reduced for tax payers. In order to balance the deficit of $358,000, the District would need to make staff reductions of at least $160,000, as well as pass the safety & security levy in the amount of $197,500.

There are options to relieve the General Fund budget, many of which the District is already doing, and a new focus state-wide is on the Safety & Security Levy. This option was passed by the legislature in 2019. A School Safety & Security levy would provide a dedicated revenue stream for the ongoing costs of school safety, including salaries for counselors and associated safety costs in the amount of $197,500. If approved, these costs would be removed from the under-funded GF to reduce the pressure of the District’s main funding source.

The new Building Reserve Safety Levy, if approved, would be a permanent levy of 12.18 mills. Passage of this proposal will increase the annual taxes on a home with an assessed market value of $100,000 by approximately $16.44, and on a home with an assessed market value of $300,000 by approximately $49.32, and on a home with an assessed market value of $600,000 by approximately $98.64. With the reduction of the GF levies, the net increase to taxes payers would be minimal. The net impact to taxpayers, as shown in the required annual levy impact notice on page 6B, would be: a home with an assessed market value of $100,000 approximately $4.85, and a home with an assessed market value of $300,000 approximately $14.55, and a home with an assessed market value of $600,000 approximately $29.10.

The annual school election is on Tuesday, May 7, with mail ballots going out on Friday, April 19. The Building Reserve Safety Levy will be presented to voters on that ballot. Also on the ballot will be two trustee positions and the two candidates who have filed the necessary paperwork are Chrissa Nelson and Derek Beadle.

Ballots must be returned to the Valley County Election Administrator by 8 p.m. on Election Day.