Superintendent's Report

By Broadus Schools Superintendent Jim Hansen

4-12-2021

People have a way of making some things difficult. School finance certainly falls into one of those categories. Maybe government tries to confuse us so we don’t ask questions, or maybe the plan is to hire more people to interpret all the regulations. Well, this is my best attempt to briefly discuss your general fund budget and, to explain why we did not run a general fund levy this spring.

Montana general fund budgets are composed of two sections: a Base and Over-Base. The Base budget is the minimal amount the school must operate on which is comprised of State and local revenue. Whereas, the Over-Base is funded entirely by local tax dollars. When the Over-Base increases, a voter approved levy is required.

Schools have and are about to receive additional monies for COVID relief. These Federal funds are released to the States and then to local school districts. We are required to utilize this revenue to address the direct effects of COVID. After some thought I inquired if we could use these funds to pay a portion of our Over-Base levy if trustees decided not to run a levy due to the financial effects of COVID on our local economy. A couple weeks later I received a response of “yes” as long as it is directly related to COVID. At our March board meeting, trustees decided not to run a general fund levy, which is great news for our taxpayers. Next year, however we will be in the same predicament, so it is important for patrons to understand your school board and this District is looking out for your best interest.

Even though we will not be running a levy this year, we will be running a trustee election since there are two trustee positions available. Incumbents Patrick Emmons and Raquel Mader have applied for a second term, while Ayche Draine and Tricia Robinson have also filed for the trustee seats. Ballots will be mailed on April 15th and voters will be allowed to vote for two candidates.