County school budget cuts fall easier on Seeley-Swan High

Seeley-Swan High School faces significantly less budget cuts than the three Missoula high schools after the Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees supported the school district administration’s budget plan.

Business Director at Missoula County Public Schools Pat McHugh said the budget cuts are the result of an unfortunate combination of three different things: an anticipated reduction in ESSER funds — or emergency funding given to schools during the Covid-19 pandemic to help maintain staff — inflation; and growing special education enrollment numbers, which require extra and specialized staff in many cases.

“The inflation factor’s hitting us especially on utilities and on staffing, just providing a living wage for staff in Missoula County,” McHugh said.

Seeley-Swan High School has been asked to cut $15,000. The administration is recommending a reduction of $150,000 in total from the three Missoula schools — Sentinel, Big Sky and Hellgate — or about $50,000 from each. Where these cuts are made will be up to the schools’ administration, or in Seeley’s case, principal Shawn Holmes.

“We’re not going to lose staff, we’re not going to lose any programs,” Holmes said. “I feel fortunate in that aspect.”

Holmes is confident in figuring out where to pull money from and that it won’t be from different programs. He intends to work on a few ideas with staff before putting them out to the public.

Another element of the Missoula County Public School Board’s decision on how to make up for funds needed was increasing costs for extracurricular activities, facility rentals and entrance fees to sports events. Holmes said he doesn’t want to raise these prices and will work on possible solutions.

Deadlines for both budget cuts and figuring out how to resolve raising prices are June 30, before the start of the school district’s 2024 fiscal year.

Part of the school district administration’s plan is to put two levies on the ballot to offset some of the deficit, though even if both levies are approved by voters, a shortage in budget will remain.