Annual School Election

The 2024 annual school election is quickly approaching for Cascade Schools. This year there were two (2) trustee positions open representing the Elementary District 3 & High School District B. Incumbents John Rumney and Ruth Mortag are the only two individuals to file for those seats, with no write-ins, so that portion of the election was cancelled by acclamation. The incumbents will be sworn in at the May 21st Organizational Meeting for a 3-year term. Thank you to Mr. Rumney & Mrs. Mortag for their service to Cascade Schools and representation of our communities.

The levy propositions will still appear on the ballot for this year’s annual election. There are two (2) levy propositions for each District which include the renewal of the Technology Fund levy and the passage of the General Fund levy.

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There are two (2) levy propositions for each District which include the renewal of the Technology Fund levy and the passage of the General Fund levy.

The first proposition that will appear on the ballot will be to ask the voters to pass a General Fund levy for both the Elementary and High School district. For fiscal year 2024-2025, the District’s State Guaranteed Tax Base increased by $48,512 in the Elementary and $58,475 in the High School. This increase in state funding decreases the local tax obligation to fund the General Fund. The Board of Trustees is asking the voters to approve a levy in both Districts of the same State GTB amounts in the respective districts. The levy will offset the State GTB, which will not increase the tax obligation from fiscal year 2023-2024, but will increase both the Elementary and High School budgets. If the General Fund levies do not pass, tax payers would expect a tax savings of only $6.28 on a $100K home in the Elementary and $6.32 on a $100K home in the High School. The passage of these levies will greatly benefit the districts in providing a larger budget for providing excellent resources and education to the students of our community.

The second proposition that will appear on the ballot will be to ask the voters to renew the Technology Levy that was originally passed in 2014 for fiscal year 2015, in the total annual amount of $150,000 between the Elementary and High School districts. The Technology Levy is a permissive voted levy, which means the voters must approve the levy and the maximum amount allowed to be levied annually, but the District may levy any amount up to the approved amount. This levy is authorized by §20-9-543, MCA for the purpose of purchasing, renting, repairing, and maintaining technological equipment and to provide technical training for district personnel. This levy has proven vital to our district over the past ten years, allowing us to make huge improvements and updates to our technological infrastructure and providing our students and staff with the tools and resources needed to excel in our current technology focused age. A few of the major improvements and uses of the Technology funds include providing our students and staff with 1:1 devices, updating all security cameras in and around the school, along with implementing other safety and security measures, upgrading the PA and sound systems throughout the school, replacing and updating all phones, contracting technology services through Schoolhouse IT, rewiring and updating the internet infrastructure throughout the school, as well as providing our teachers and students with programs and curriculum used every day in the classrooms.

On average, the Technology Levy costs the taxpayers approximately $7.19 on a $100K house in the Elementary district and $8.11 on a $100K house in the High School district annually. Over the past few years, the district has made it a mission to be as conservative as possible with these funds and has been successful in doing so, creating a nice sized “savings” in the fund. If the voters should vote to renew the Technology Levy in both districts, we would adjust the yearly levy amount to accommodate the budgetary needs, which in turn would lower the taxpayer obligation. The district will be asking the voters to approve the renewal of the Technology Levy for an additional 10 years in the amount of $75,000 in both districts, for a total of $150,000 annually.

The passage of these levies for fiscal year 2024-2025 is not a new imposition of taxes, but rather a maintenance of what is currently being taxed in fiscal year 2023-2024.

If you have any questions regarding the General Fund or Technology Levy, please feel free to contact Business Manager/Election Administrator Karsen Floerchinger at (406) 468-9383 x 104 or [email protected]. All election information and resource materials can also be found on the school’s webpage at https://www.cascade.k12.mt.us/District/3920-Elections.html