Missoula school district to ask voters to renew building reserve levies

Roofs leak and boilers fail and windows crack from driving hail.

And they do so with such predictable frequency that the Missoula County Public Schools http://www.mcps.k12.mt.us/portal/default.aspx district can put a price tag on it.

Over the next five years, the elementary schools will ring up $2.5 million worth of repairs, more or less. The high schools will tally $3.15 million over the next seven.

And so on May 3, MCPS is asking Missoula voters to approve both amounts to keep schools running. The levies are continuations of previously approved building-reserve funds, and so will not raise taxes on property owners. In the elementary district, property valued at $200,000 is levied $16.70 per year; in the high school district, it’s $8.67.

The money will not be used for new projects, or salaries, or transportation, or curriculum, or any other area of education.

Rather, "it’s leaky roofs, broken windows, asbestos removal or a failed irrigation system," said MCPS director of operations and maintenance Scott Reed.

By JAMIE KELLY of the Missoulian missoulian.com

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_ce0e4afc-3be1-11e0-a704-001cc4c002e0.html