Missoula Elementary Budget Request Decreases, But Bond Payments Overshadow Reduction

The Missoula County School District One budget is showing a lot of decreases this year although property owners will see an overall rise in the amount they pay for schools due to the recent passing of over 150 million dollars in bonds. Superintendent Mark Thane explains.

"If we look at eight of the nine budgeted funds we see a reduction of about $13.46 on a $200,000 home," said Thane. "We are well aware however that the bond issue that was passed has a significant impact on those tax payers and that is to the tune of about a $90.86 increase on a $200,000 home annually."

Thane says that the large bond project was a factor when deciding on whether or not the school system would run a levy.

"We chose on the heels of our bond issue not to run general operating levy this year," Thane said. "We felt like we had enough capacity in the budget to get through. Probably the most significant reduction, we had a building reserved that expired. The voters had approved it five years ago. We are done collecting that revenue so that is a $12.50 reduction to individual tax bills."

Of all nine budgeting categories for Missoula County Public Schools, only two saw increases: there was a 4.13 percent increase in tuition and a 33.65 percent increase in Debt Service.