Community college advocates hope third time is charm for levy

by John Dowd

“Hopefully, the third try is the charm,” commented Bitterroot Valley Community College (BVCC) trustee and secretary, Sue Smith. She was speaking about the organization’s upcoming attempt to ask the public for help with a rare opportunity to create a community college in the Bitterroot. According to trustee vice chair, Jean Butler, this would be only the fourth of its kind in the state, and the first to be created in the last 50 years. To do this, they will need to ask the community to pass a levy, which BVCC has tried to do twice before without success.

The vote will take place on May 7, via a mail-in ballot. According to trustee chair Carrie Guarino, “We listened and wanted to hold true.” She and others with BVCC have worked to alter the levy to give it its best chance and to address the concerns of the public.

“It really opened the door to some interesting conversations with people,” said Butter, speaking about their recent “Ask and Listen” campaign, which helped the organization to speak with the public on the topic of creating the college.

Following those meetings, the trustees said that this levy will be different. The first time they went to the public, they did so after being approved for the creation of a community college district in 2020. That first levy was permanent and asked for 9.5 mills, which Butler said was exorbitant and occurred because the trustees were unsure of exactly how the process worked. They knew that the public desired an independent community college, as it was voted in previously by a high margin. After being created, the district was able to levy for community funds, but presumably the levy amount was set too high and the public balked. After being significantly voted down twice, the trustees went back to the drawing board. 

One of the problems, according to Butler, was, “we assumed people knew what the Bitterroot Valley Community College was.” However, there seems to have been a major misunderstanding about the nature of the community college. According to Butler, many people believe it to be associated with the outreach program run by the University of Montana. The reality is that the two are completely unrelated. The U of M is housed in Missoula and operates an outreach program in the valley. The BVCC would be a community owned and operated college, completely autonomous and unrelated to the U of M. 

The BVCC would also be geared towards workforce training, with an emphasis on programs like welding, electrical, medicine and much more. According to Butler, the goal would be to provide an affordable way to keep Bitterrooters employed in the Bitterroot, and to provide youth in the valley training in the valley to find jobs in Ravalli County. “Hyper local,” as the trustees described. Butler added that it would also be a way to bring more outside funding into the area. “It would be a fantastic tool for the community,” said Butler. 

It would essentially be, “a college that reflects the needs and wants of the community,” said Guarino. Some of these programs would be for what Butler described as, “lifelong learning opportunities” for adults, as well.

“This would be the first independent community college in Montana in over 50 years,” said Butler. The only others, according to Butler, are located in Miles City, Glendive and Kalispell.

The BVCC team is anxious to get the vote completed in advance of the next legislative session in order to capitalize on opportunities to bring more funding from the state to the project. But to make that happen, they need to get the correct information out to the public.

“They want to know what they are paying for,” said Butler, speaking about the hesitant community. She spoke of her experiences in talking with many people in the valley, who have been reluctant to accept any more levies, as the prices of everything have gone up and with the economy being under many other stresses. Butler wanted to express that this time, the levy they will be asking for is a minimum. 

With a new levy amount of 1.5 mills, the impact to taxpayers would be limited. According to Butler, “The approximate annual property tax impact per year will be $2.03 for a home with an assessed home market value of $100,000, $6.08 for a home value of $300,000, and $12.15 for a home value of $600,000.” Additionally, the levy is temporary. “Give us four years to show you what we can do,” said Guarino. “If they don’t like what we’ve done, in another four years they can vote again.”

Butler explained the levy in detail in a press release, stating, “After six months of supportive feedback from local residents and business leaders, the trustees of the Bitterroot Valley Community College (BVCC) District announced that a levy ballot for BVCC operating costs will be run this May. The 1.5 mill levy, the minimum amount required by the state legislature to secure state funding, will have a four-year duration and raise an estimated $197,000 per year for the district.

“In Spring 2022, a 9.5 mill levy election for BVCC was held and failed to pass. ‘Feedback from our district residents who voted against the levy was very clear,’ said Carrie Guarino, Chairperson of the BVCC Trustees. ‘The levy was set too high, the permanent status of the levy did not allow future evaluation by voters, and the ongoing confusion between BVCC and UM Bitterroot [formerly Bitterroot College] made it difficult for the voters to know exactly what they were voting about.’ With the failure of the 2022 levy, BVCC was not eligible for allocated state funding available to independent community colleges in Montana. Without funding, BVCC is not fully operational, with the exception of the Veterans Upward Bound program currently offered for local veterans.

“In Fall 2024, the state of Montana begins its next biennial budget process for fiscal years 2025-27. The budget under discussion will start in Fall 2025 and extend through Spring 2027. Having a levy approved in Spring 2024 will allow BVCC to be eligible for state funding allocated to the community colleges in Montana during the next biennial legislative budget session. ‘Believe me, we wish we didn’t have to a run a levy this year,’ said Jean Butler, Vice-Chairperson of the Trustees. ‘The timing of the budget session was the deciding factor. If not now, BVCC would have to wait until the next round of budget deliberations in Fall 2027. We are eager to begin providing the robust workforce training, general education courses and lifelong learning experiences that our local community told us it wants and deserves.’

“The BVCC District was officially established in Spring 2021 by the Montana legislature and includes the communities of Lone Rock, Stevensville, Victor, Corvallis, Hamilton, Darby and Sula. Since the town of Florence falls within both Ravalli and Missoula counties, it could not be considered. However, Florence could consider a future ballot of its own, asking residents to join the BVCC District. 

“BVCC is the fourth independent community college in the state of Montana, joining Flathead Valley Community College, Miles Community College and Dawson Community College. Each community college is independently managed and controlled by a Board of Trustees who are local residents elected by fellow residents within each specific district.     

“Currently, UM Bitterroot offers limited general education and workforce training in Hamilton. As an extension program of Missoula College, UM Bitterroot is susceptible to the funding priorities of the University of Montana. ‘Passing this levy will give BVCC the start-up funds required to offer courses and training that is needed and wanted,’ said Sue Smith, Secretary of the Trustees. ‘This is a levy vote for the future – the future of workforce and educational training in the Bitterroot Valley for Valley residents. Our students will become a local resource of essential workers, employers and taxpayers from the Bitterroot Valley who will remain here and enhance our local economy.’”

Outside of the press release, Butler commented, saying, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know that we are going to train the next generation and give them the opportunity to stay here and work here?”

For more information about Bitterroot Valley Community College and to sign up for email updates, interested parties can visit bvcommunitycollege.org

Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to indicate that the levy amounts are in number of mills, NOT millions of dollars as was previously published.