Noxon schools adjust to loss of state grants

As property tax statements were mailed in Sanders County this month, taxpayers in Noxon School District felt the burden of the 2017 Legislative Session.

Superintendent Thad Kaiser said that last year, the school district had $352,000 in state block grants.

“This year, we didn’t get any of that,” Kaiser said.

The Montana Legislature passed Senate Bill 307 earlier this year, which included phasing out the Quality Schools Facility Grant Program. That program, according to the Montana Department of Commerce, provides school facility and technology grants, matching planning grants and emergency grants to schools. The funding comes from timber harvest on common school trust lands, according to DOC, and rental income received from power site leases deposited into the school facility and technology accounts.

Kaiser noted that for larger school districts in Montana, losing the block grants did not have as much of an impact as it did on the smaller school district such as Noxon. The general fund budget for K-12 at Noxon School District is $1.95 million. The block grants amounted to more than 15 percent of the total budget. Kaiser said that percentage is significant.

“To the level we got hit, we were totally shocked,” Kaiser said.

Kaiser said that as a result of the 2017 Legislative Session, General Fund Block Grants were decreased by more than $54 million, and the Natural Resource Development K-12 Funding Payment was reduced by $8.1 million per year.  

Two other infrastructure measures before the Legislature this year could have provided additional funding to schools, but both HB645 and SG367 died in the House.

Kaiser said that the school district has state accreditation stands they must meet. To keep accreditation, reducing staff was not an option for Noxon School District. They had to secure funding to make up for the lost block grants, and in August, the school voted to increase the district school levy.

“The Board of Trustees understands their obligation to spend tax monies wisely,” Kaiser said. “Our fiscal responsibility is never taken lightly. Nonetheless, this unexpected change in the distribution of the State’s share of funding created an impact on local property taxes that left a huge gap in the school’s operating budget.”

Noxon School District has 194 students this year.