Parents bring concerns over Deer Lodge school unification

More than 40 parents, educators and citizens met Oct. 3 with the Powell County education officials in the basement of Helmville School to discuss concerns that taxes for the high school could rise in rural districts by combining the Deer Lodge Elementary and High School districts.

The Deer Lodge unification plan would combine Powell County High School with Elementary District #1, or Deer Lodge Elementary, to create one district. Joint superintendent Rick Duncan said would save costs and not impact the rural elementaries in the district.

The rural schools, including Helmville, Ovando, Avon, Garrison and Elliston, would not be changed or modified. Some parents, however, took concern with the unification, which they said could increase taxes to the high school, which rural residents help pay for.

Deer Lodge Elementary is not supported by the rural schools.

The District #1 board and the high school board passed joint resolutions requesting unification, which triggered a county-wide vote. If passed on Nov. 7, the high school and elementary boards would be combined into a singular nine-person joint board.

Rural schools would have up to four members on the board. Duncan said the rural representatives would only vote on high school level, while elementary board members would vote on both high school and elementary.

The unified district would continue to have separate budgets, but cut costs by working together on administrative fees and insurance coverage. Curriculum can also be aligned, which Duncan said might not have happened in decades

"Even though they are three blocks apart from each other, the campuses of the two districts are not connected, and we need that to connect," Duncan said. "We're at the size of being three blocks away, it generally makes sense to unify as one district."

Duncan said analysis by the Montana School Board Association and the Montana Department of Revenue showed little to no impact on taxes for the unification. But some unanswered questions, like how the elementary and high school unions might interact, could pose problems later.

Both Powell County High School and Elementary District #1 have collective bargaining agreements with their teaching staff. If the two schools combined, the unions would not be required to combine, but differences in pay and health benefits might lead to joint negotiations.

"At this point just talking to the executive leadership of both of the unions, they are not too excited right now about joining those contracts," Duncan said

High school makes less than the elementary pay by about $1,200 a year. But he said the health insurance benefits for the high school are much different, although Duncan didn't specify which school had the better plan.

If both schools combined their unions, and took the higher pay structure of the elementary school, Duncan said the district would need to come up with another $43,000. He said that process will likely be slow, and he hopes the Montana School Board Association can help negotiate a new deal.

"If they unify under one contract, they all would have to have the same salary schedule, which would cause the high school to even out with the elementary," one resident said. "We're going to have to pay for the raises that they get."

Duncan said that won't necessarily be the case, since their budget is set by the state. But the money will have to come from somewhere, and he said county taxpayers might have to help out if the budget rises.

Duncan said the last time the county high school and Deer Lodge elementary were together in one district was in 1903. Then the state legislature changed the guidelines for county-wide school districts, and separated the two schools.

Bart Smith, a High School Trustee, said he has seen the difficulties with the two schools working as separate districts.

"It really is not going to affect you guys much, but it will help us a bunch. We have had two schools that operated like two little fiefdoms," said Bart Smith, a Powell County High School trustee. "One school couldn't and wouldn't borrow a screwdriver from the other school."

The last time there was a movement to unification was in 1982, Duncan said. That movement was brought by a public petition, but the decision was voted down handedly with 73% of the population.

Duncan has been in the district for 24 years, much of that as the high school superintendent. In March 2022, the elementary board asked him to also be the superintendent of Deer Lodge Elementary.

Duncan revealed his salary to be $140,000 at the meeting, but he noted that both districts saved money by splitting the bill. The extra money went to teacher pay raises, Duncan said.

The election will decide whether the schools can unify. If passed on Nov. 7, the change will be made permanent by law.