News you can use

Mill levies pass, budget clearer

Alice Campbell Havre Daily News [email protected]

The murky crystal ball that has been the Havre Public Schools' budget, got a little clearer Tuesday when voters approved two mill levy increases. After holding out for the results of the delayed elections the Legislature's budget was not finalized before the specifics were set for the May 5 voting that elected three trustees and approved a six-year continuation of an elementary school building reserve mill levy in the amount of $185,000 per year trustees can now begin the budgeting process in earnest. The $36,623 mill levy increase for the elementary general fund passed 485 to 231. Voters also passed the increase of $77,603 for the high school general fund 484 to 231, with an additional eight voters in outlying high school district A voting for the increase and 10 against. "This is great," said Superintendent Dennis Parman. "Two-to-one is a great margin." Parman added that the passage of the increases shows the continued support of the community even dBoard Chairman Shad Huston agreed. "It's excellent," he said. "I'm very enthused with the turnout we had." "It now allows us to take the next step and start planning for next year," he said and added that many things have been put off and that must be frustrating for people working in the schools. "You can let out a big sigh of relief," Huston said. Now, the work begins. Two budgets have already been worked on by Parman and school administrators, going through six revisions. Tuesday, June 2, at 6:30 p.m. in the Robins School administration building, trustees will hold a budget work session to discuss the two budgets in which school administrators have had to justify each expense requested. The mill levy increases will allow programs in the schools to remain intact with growth in the elementary district. The elementary increase will raise that budget by about $85,000, which Parman has said he hopes will allow for the hiring of new teachers to alleviate some of the larger class sizes.uring economic trends that indicate money will continue to be tight.

 

Reader Comments(0)