The 2025 technology levy, if passed, would be the district's first update since 2004. Representatives of the district called it a "smaller ask" compared to 2024's levy proposals that failed at the ballot.
"Our current levy 'keeps the lights on,' but doesn't allow us to replace any devices or to update our network. If something breaks, we are out of luck," officials said.
The proposed technology levy would be for the high school and elementary districts, costing taxpayers almost $2 more in property taxes if they own a $100,000 home, a little over $5 on a $300,000 home and almost $11 on a $600,000 home per month.
Helena Public Schools Director of Educational Technology Gary Myers said this year's levy was about "critical device replacement and maintenance."
"We're asking about less than 25 percent of what we asked last year because a lot of feedback that we got from voters was this ask was just too much," Myers said. "The other thing that came up with a lot of voter feedback was that people were tentative about perpetual levies."
The 2004 technology levy was approved prior to the release of the first iPhone, so the need for funding in technology was different compared to today, he added.
"If this tech levy passes, the existing tech levy gets rolled into it and then it all sunsets in 10 years," he said.
The 2004 levy was something Myers said the district and his team were grateful for because it allowed the district to modernize school technology and have better Wi-Fi connections.
Although grateful, the current levy was only about a quarter of what the district needs to fully fund technology.
"Laptops, desktops and teacher devices, we're going to want those to last roughly seven years and then be able to replace them at that point," Myers said. "Student devices it's the same thing. Chromebooks, you're looking at a five- to seven-year cycle for student devices."
He said what the district has done since he started was using a little under $1 million from interlocal funds or from ESSER funds, which were applied during the COVID-19 pandemic, on top of the 2004 levy funding.
"We haven't been replacing any devices. We haven't been updating any wiring in any buildings. We've just been functioning at a very base level, which kind of sets you up for a device cliff," Myers said.
Grades K-5 have a 1:1 ratio for devices, the middle schools and high schools also have a 1:1 ratio, but middle schoolers do not take devices home anymore.
"Our middle school devices used to go home, but now we keep them in the buildings. That was a decision we made because when you send devices home they are under higher use," Myers said.
He said that decision could create challenges because some programs to complete homework and other assignments are done through programs only provided online. Some students may not be able to complete them in time if the devices are not with them at home.
One of the technological goals of the district is to prepare students for their futures in an ever-changing technological world. Myers said he wanted students to be prepared for jobs that would require the use of various devices and programs.
Other things that the levy could help are cybersecurity, networking capabilities and liability insurance, among others.
If the levy does not pass May 6, Myers offered two scenarios.
"One scenario is that we will continue to struggle with device replacement, so we'll continue to have spots where devices don't work and educational services are interrupted as a result of that," Myers said.
An example of this would be if a teacher's laptop isn't working properly, it would impair their ability to deliver instruction, he said.
"The other scenario is the reality of the district's budget is that you want to keep some basic services running, so you're going to continue to spend money from the interlocal or the general fund on basic services like Internet service," he said.
This would make the district have to choose what to fund and what to neglect.
"We're always going to have what the industry would consider to be a very conservative replacement cycle, so we use things longer than they would be used in most cases," he said.
The district announced the levy after months of discussion between the board and community members. The discussion included the possibility of closing Hawthorne Elementary School.
Hawthorne Elementary School, 430 Madison Ave., is one of the oldest school buildings in Helena, and holds roughly $4.6 million in deferred maintenance.
From 2022 to 2025, the district has spent roughly $44,000 on annual maintenance, while across the elementary district annual maintenance costs settled around $2 million since 2022, according to HPS Facilities Director Todd Verrill.
He added at a public hearing regarding the school April 9, the cost per student in deferred maintenance across the eight older buildings in the elementary district was about $12,000, but at Hawthorne it was around $26,000.
©2025 the Independent Record (Helena, Mont.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
