Billings School District 2 is assessing how to fund school safety improvements after voters turned down a levy targeting the issue.
Billings Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Erwin Garcia said the roughly $5 million voters rejected would have paid for camera systems and solved a current shortage of counselors and nurses.
“The fallout on the levy is that we have limited resources to respond to safety situations,” Garcia said.
He said adding a safety levy to the ballot can cost thousands of dollars, and the school district wants to be responsible in the decision to pursue another one, including understanding why this most recent one failed.
“So, people have said, look, if you had cameras and police, we would have voted yes. Even though it was an increase on my taxes, that would have been a better deal if we didn't have the mental health aspect.”
Garcia said counselors are vital to address students’ underlying mental health conditions and behavioral issues: “You need people, trained people, to support the trauma that some of our kids are experiencing."
The levy would have cost around $60 annually for a home valued at $300,000.
Also on the superintendent’s plate are union negotiations as staff contracts approach expiration. SD2 and the Billings Education Association reached a tentative agreement this week on a new contract.
“From my perspective, I’m pretty happy with the way the contract ended up,” said Billings Education Association President Doug Robison.
Teachers will see a pay increase to build the district’s competitiveness and adjust for inflation.
According to April’s estimates from the National Education Association, Montana ranked 51st in the nation for lowest starting salaries and 42nd for average salary.
Garcia said the district is able to increase teacher pay despite an ongoing budget deficit, which it’s so far managed by taking steps like closing Washington Elementary School and consolidating middle school programs.
The negotiations also include added stipends as incentives for teachers of special education and classes that combine different elementary school grades. Garcia said it’s hard to find special education teachers, and rates of violence in elementary school classes have increased. He said worker compensation filings in cases where kids have attacked a teacher have tripled from 30 cases in 2016 closer to 90.
Robison said the union will ask for a vote to accept the new contract from its more than 1,000 members. If accepted, the contract will be up for a full vote at the school board meeting on Monday.
