As the region and the nation tangle with the reality of data centers and artificial intelligence, it seems technology grows ever more dominant and necessary.
The Butte School District wants to ensure students at Butte High School have the resources they need to learn safely and competitively.
On election day, May 5, the district will ask voters to approve a 10-year, $3.2 million Technology Levy for the high school. The levy seeks $320,000 per year for 10 years.
Students work on computers in Kotie Dunmire’s financial literacy class at Butte High School in Butte on March 10.
The Butte School District said the technology levy is needed to replace aging instructional technology, implement sustainable technology and improve student access to up-to-date technology, including hardware and software, computer network access and more.
According to the district, if voters approve the levy, the estimated tax increase for a home with a market value of $100,000 — likely rare these days — would be about $2.65 per year. The estimated increase for a home with a market value of $300,000 would be $7.95 per year.
The district said Butte High School has never had a technology levy.
The ballot for the May 5 election also will include a proposed permanent Elementary District General Fund levy of $175,000. The estimated tax increase for a $100,000 home would be about $1.77 and about $5.31 for a home valued at $300,000.
Fynna Kremer writes in her workbook in Ms. Kelly’s second grade class at West Elementary School in Butte on March 10.
If voters pass the levy, it would allow the district to operate at its maximum budget, and if budget limits went up, the district would have to ask voters to pass another levy to get back to the maximum budget level, district business manager Kevin Patrick said.
Butte School District Trustees held a special meeting Monday to consider the levies and other business. The board unanimously approved the levies and a memorandum of understanding with Butte-Silver Bow County for a school resource officer.
The district did not ask for voters to approve levies in 2025.
A 2024 levy vote was a tad chaotic.
A proposed property tax levy for Butte High School tied on election night May 7, 2024, passed by three votes when provisional ballots were counted six days later, and on Friday, May 24, failed by nine votes in a formal recount.
At the time, the district sought a levy increase it said was needed for safety initiatives at the high school. The money would have paid for school counselors, school resource officers, deans, mental health workers and IT staff who provide safety support.
The Butte School District also asked voters in 2024 to approve a levy to support operational costs at elementary schools. That levy passed.
Students work on an assignment in Ms. Kelly’s second grade class at West Elementary School in Butte on March 10.
Meanwhile, voters won’t find school trustee candidates on the May 5 ballot. Three incumbents have filed for three open seats and thus voters need not weigh in. They are Ann Boston, Tom Billteen and Patty Hepola.
Ballots are scheduled to go out April 20.
Patrick reminded voters of a new state law relevant to mail-in ballots.
Voters must write their birth year on the mail ballot envelope before mailing it or returning it.
The new law stems from a bill passed by the 2025 Legislature. It went into effect Oct. 1. A ballot will be rejected if it does not include both the voter’s signature and birth year.
