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Bloomfield board moves to undo erroneously levied building reserve fund, approves staff bonuses and warrants
Summary
At its Dec. 17 meeting the Bloomfield School board directed Clerk Stacy Whitmer to work with the Office of Public Instruction to stop a state payment and to reduce FY2026 levies after a permissive building reserve fund was accidentally included in the FY2025 budget; the board also approved Christmas bonuses and warrants.
Bloomfield School board members on Dec. 17 directed the district clerk to work with the Montana Office of Public Instruction to halt a state payment and to adjust levies in next year’s budget after a permissive building reserve fund was mistakenly included and levied in the FY2025 budget.
Clerk Stacy Whitmer told the board the permissive levy had "been created in error," that she had alerted other trustees and sought guidance from the Montana School Boards Association (MTSBA), and that she had contacted OPI to try to stop the state major maintenance payment portion of the collections. Whitmer said she had forwarded all related email correspondence to the board before the meeting so members would be informed of the situation.
The board unanimously approved a motion by board member Shawn Walker directing Whitmer to work with OPI and to reduce other levies in the FY2026 budget to compensate for the error. Natalie Mullet seconded the motion; all present voted in favor.
Why it matters: The permissive building reserve fund was not intended to be included in the FY2025 budget and — according to Whitmer’s description to the board and the MTSBA opinion she cited — both a portion of the state payment and taxpayer contributions make up the total collections. Stopping the state payment and adjusting levies could reduce the amount ultimately borne by local taxpayers, but Whitmer said specifics on the state portion and the taxpayer share were not provided in the meeting record.
Other business and formal actions - The board approved minutes from the Nov. 19, 2024 meeting on a motion by Shawn Walker, seconded by Chris Raisl; the motion carried unanimously. - Board member Chris Raisl reported he is working on completing lead testing for the district; no timeline or costs were recorded. - The board unanimously approved Christmas bonuses on a motion by Raisl, seconded by Walker: $600 each for Anna and Brittany, $1,700 for Katie McGinnis and $1,500 for Stacy Whitmer. - The board unanimously approved the December warrants on a motion by Natalie Mullet, seconded by Chris Raisl. - The meeting was adjourned after a motion by Shawn Walker, seconded by Chris Raisl. The clerk recorded that the next regular meeting will be held on a Tuesday in January at 6:00 p.m.
Authorities, next steps and follow-up: Whitmer said she had consulted the MTSBA and would continue working with OPI to seek rejection of the state major maintenance payment; the board used the MTSBA opinion as the basis for its remedy discussion. The board did not record specific dollar amounts for the state portion or the total collected in the meeting minutes.
The transcript shows unanimous votes on motions listed above and records the board’s direction to the clerk; no formal appeals or dissenting votes were recorded.
