Hamilton schools to run bond and levy
by Nathan Boddy
The Hamilton School District hosted a Town Hall on Tuesday, March 14th in order to share information about an upcoming bond and levy package that will come before voters in mid-April. The school district plans to host another informational meeting on April 4th at 5 p.m. at the Middle School Auditorium, but also has provided substantial information on their website: https://www.hsd3.org/page/2023-hsd3-bond-and-levy.
District Superintendent Tom Korst said during Tuesday’s meeting that the goal at that time was to, “inform the public about both the bond and levy, and seek input and answer any questions we can.” He then went on to explain both the bond and the levy and provide an outline for why the district feels as though they are needed. The meeting was live cast on the District’s Facebook page, and only a handful of questions were posted on that forum.
On the district website, the need for the bond and levy is expressed by saying, “The levy will ensure we maintain crucial student programs, expand programs and retain our excellent staff. The bond enables us to build a new middle school and improve the security of the high school’s front entrance and its overall student capacity. It would also allow us to repurpose older buildings and land to benefit our community.” The district also provided a seven-minute video wherein school officials and staff provide additional information on the need for passage of the bond and levy. They make the case for the strong need that Hamilton has for construction of a new, modern middle school.
Hamilton’s middle school sits on the corner of South 5th and State Streets, and suffers a number of design flaws that district officials point to as being detrimental to student education. No one would be faulted for equating the building’s only ‘playground’ with a prison yard, the name by which multiple school staff members apparently call it. Middle School teacher Amanda Kirkbride commented about the playground within the video by saying, “If you’ve seen our playground, it’s pretty pathetic. It’s just a big concrete slab. I feel like we have a lot of behavior problems because the kids get bored and they don’t have slides or swings or or even a tire to play on.”
In the video, school board member Tim Campbell weighs in on the building known as ‘The Pod’ to the south of the concrete slab, saying that it has, “no windows, no green space, no open air. It wasn’t built with education in mind.”
“The reality is that the middle school has served our community for almost 25 years at this point in time,” said Korst during Tuesday’s meeting. “It’s done well, but it has certainly outlived its original purpose. It’s time to consider a new option.”
Korst pointed out that no decisions were final, but their recommended site for new construction is the Westview site at South 9th and Main Street. The property is owned by the district, and the main building there currently houses the Bitterroot College. There are also recreational fields and bus maintenance quonset huts. Korst said that the Bitterroot College building would remain in place with new construction happening further to the south. 
The bond would also provide funding to construct a new entryway and additional classrooms for Hamilton High School. According to the district, lack of classrooms has limited the amount of elective classes that students take, while the entryway itself is distant from school offices and hard to monitor, a fact that falls out of step with security requirements of schools today.
Korst explained that upon passage of the bond, the district would begin looking at their assets and conducting market and feasibility studies which would include considering consolidation and selling of district properties. The Washington Elementary School site had been considered for sale, but the district has since moved an early kindergarten program into the building which is not only growing, but “increases a child’s academic and social success,” and “decreases burdens on families,” according to Korst.
Ultimately, Superintendent Korst guesses that the Bond would be a 50+ year solution to the district’s facilities needs. He added that the levy, which aims to retain select programs such as Keystone, early kindergarten and career/tech programs and retain staff, would be a 10+ year solution.
For more information about the district proposals, and to view the informational video, visit the information page on their website at: https://www.hsd3.org/page/2023-hsd3-bond-and-levy.
Stevensville schools won’t run voted levy
by John Dowd
Stevensville Public Schools announced that they will not be running an operational levy. The school system is one of the only ones in the county making such a decision. According to Stevensville Schools Superintendent, Dave Thennis, during the last board meeting it was decided that the schools can make it to next year without the extra funds.
According to Thennis, with the leftover Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds post-pandemic, the school board believes they can hold out for the 2023-2024 school year. At that point, Thennis explained, the school will need to have a good discussion with the community about what resources they would like to maintain in the district, and what it will cost. “We didn’t feel we could get there this year,” said Thennis. The board also “didn’t feel like we should ask for more money on top of everything else,” added Thennis.
The school is planning to exhaust those funds and operate with the general fund money that they have. According to Thennis, by then the district will be able to get ahead of some other hurdles such as enrollment. Thennis thinks that by this time next year, “we will know what our enrollment is, we will know our general funds,” and they hope to be able to come to the community with that information first. “I think people will be more likely to support that.”
On the next ballot, May 2, the community will see the trustee elections only, and no voted levy. The school will, however, be going ahead with several non-voted levies. Those will ultimately be asking for far less than the operational levy would entail, and are meant to combat inflation and other district changes, according to Thennis. These non-voted levies will include ones for transportation, tuition, building reserve and others.
“I just appreciate the engagement with the community, and I appreciate the dialogue,” said Tennis. “Public schools run better when everybody is involved.” He and the board believe that several “course corrections” they have made will help the district maintain operations. When looking towards the next school year, Thennis said he hopes that “the general/ESSER funds will be the bridge to get us there.”