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Roberts School Board to put $95,000 general fund levy on ballot; declines separate technology levy
Summary
The Roberts School District Board voted unanimously March 19 to place a $95,000 general fund levy (which includes technology funding) on the ballot and to not run a separate Technology Levy that expires June 30, 2025. The ballot statement lists estimated mills and homeowner impacts.
Vice Chair Nick Dobbel and the Roberts School District No. 5 Board of Trustees voted unanimously March 19 to place a $95,000 General Fund levy on the ballot for fiscal year 2026 and to forego a separate Technology Levy that would have otherwise been considered.
The vote followed a discussion led by Superintendent Alex Ator about whether to present voters with separate measures for technology and the general fund. Trustee Joel Bertolino moved to run a general fund levy for $95,000 that would include technology funding; Trustee Brad Norman seconded the motion and the measure carried on a unanimous roll call recorded as Yes—Dobbel, Bertolino, Bissonnette, Norman.
The levy language included in the meeting packet estimates the $95,000 request to be approximately 29.51 mills and lists household impacts: about $39.84 additional tax on a $100,000 home, $119.52 on a $300,000 home and $239.03 on a $600,000 home. The ballot text notes the mill estimate is approximate because final taxable valuation is not available before the election and cites 15-10-425, MCA, as the statutory requirement for ballot language.
The board also approved a separate Resolution of Intent regarding permissive levies, with Ator recommending no increase in permissive levies for the coming year; that resolution passed unanimously.
Why it matters: passage of the $95,000 levy would provide the district additional operating dollars for FY26, including technology costs the board chose to roll into the general request rather than present as a standalone measure. The ballot’s durational limit is permanent if the district levies the amount at least once in the next five years, per the ballot language included in the packet.
What’s next: the levy proposition will appear on the local ballot as printed in the packet. The district packet listed the Montana Office of Public Instruction guidance and the statutory citation (15-10-425, MCA) as the authority for the ballot wording.
