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Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
1
Budgets – Helena Public Schools for 2015-16
Executive Summary The Montana State Office of Public Instruction (OPI) requires the Trustees to adopt a
budget for each levied fund by August 20th of each year. The entire process of valuing
property is established through state law and begins with the Department of Revenue. The
department certifies the values for the elementary and high school districts in early August.
OPI establishes the official budget document that is required to be completed for the final
adoption. This document is transferred electronically to the state and a printed version to
the County Superintendent of Schools and Board of County Commissioners. At the
County, all governmental entities submit budgets that are certified and eventually result in
tax bills and levies for property owners in the county. OPI requires budget adoption by
fund total rather than by line item. Line items budgets are prepared for most funds within
each district and are available from the Business Office.
For 2015-16, the elementary district levied $14,497,002 for a total of 155.31 mills for
budgeted funds and excluding debt service. The combined total actual expenditures for all
elementary funds from the previous year was $61,142,444. The high school district levied
$9,202,843 for a total of 79.82 mills for budgeted funds excluding debt service with 2014-
15 actual expenditures equaling $31,631,234. The combined districts have 37 funds and
129 grants which each require separate accounting.
Highlights
Instructional The primary responsibility is to ensure high levels of learning for all students. The District
is proud to highlight the results of student achievement and identify people and programs
that have helped students learn at high levels. The focus to update instructional resources,
improve learning environments and develop a collaborative process for staff to work
together allowing all students an opportunity to high quality materials instruction.
The District updated K-5 math, K-12 Literacy, and 6-12 Social Studies. The focus for the
2015-2016 is centered around 6-12 math. The District has also implemented benchmarking
assessments and intervention programs to assist with our four primary PLC questions.
1) What do we want our student to know? 2) How do we know our students are learning? 3) What do we do when our students are not learning? 4) What do we do when ours students are proficient?
Measuring student growth through assessment and intervention programs has allowed the
District to place instructional and human resources in identified areas allowing for
optimum student growth. We are very excited to see the increase in the number of students
district wide showing increased proficiencies in math and reading.
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
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2014-2015 math data shows over two hundred incoming 6th graders performing at the 80th
percentile. This is an improvement from past math data and requires our middle schools
to accommodate the increasing numbers of advanced students. Our elementary teachers
also see an overall increased preparedness and have adjusted instruction to meet the needs
of a higher level student. The weekly PLC process has allowed teachers and support staff
to plan and adjust to the advancing level of our students.
Students now have a strong foundation in math and literacy to build from; which allows
the district to offer advanced courses of study and increase rigor. This strong foundation
will propel the District forward into an increase in graduation requirements in the area of
math and science. During the 2015-2016 school year, the District will begin discussions
regarding increased graduation rates, graduation requirements and additional advanced
programs of study.
College and Career readiness is one of three main goals, and the District is doing extensive
work with student results in relationship with the ACT. The data shows a significant need
to increase graduation requirements in math and science as well as prepare students K-8 to
meet the level of rigor that allows them the opportunity to choose post-secondary options
that are areas of interest to the student. The District is confident that literacy and math
cornerstones will allow the district to continue along the academic path encompassing
standard based curriculum and instruction, effective assessments and a collaborative
communication model that will allow teachers to benefit from each other’s best work.
Joan Meyer’s quote sums up the current district status and celebrates the vision and
direction we are taking as an educational community.
“The district initiatives are so significant, they have the power to affect change in the
culture of our schools and community. As our beliefs change, so will our customs,
capabilities and habits; hence a transformative shift. What an incredible time to be teaching
and learning in the Helena schools.” Joan Meyer, CHS Librarian
Curriculum During 2014-15, the Curriculum department adopted a Social Studies curriculum for
grades 6-12. This adoption included the purchase of approximately $1,359,000 of
technology, on line access, textbooks, Chromebooks, and related material from 2014-15
and $182,760 of technology from 2015-16. Projects slated for 2015-16 include Math,
materials update grades 6-12.
Special Education During the 2014-15 school year, Elementary Principals and the Leadership Team focused
on using the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) to provide guidance for special
education staff to meet the four basic goals listed above. The following expectation was
developed for special education teachers: “Students are expected to participate in grade
level core instruction, noting that individual student needs may alter the amount of time
the student is involved with core instruction.” Using this as a guideline, the resource
educators focused on the development of the district Core Plus Model. This model
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
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supplements the general education core curriculum with additional intervention, if and
when needed. For example, while all teachers and students used the Journeys English
Language Arts core curriculum; in special education, it was supplemented with a variety
of interventions when students were either not meeting the goal of learning or were not
proficient.
To answer the question of “How do we know our students are learning?” Resource
Teachers will be working during the PLC time to analyze benchmark data and weekly and
daily data for students in special education. Based on the analysis, instructional strategies
to assist students in working toward proficiency will be discussed and implemented.
This year, the Special Education Department was monitored by OPI for compliance.
Monitoring occurs every five years to ensure special education paperwork meets state and
federal guidelines under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). The
feedback received from OPI was favorable overall. The Special Education Department
will continue training staff and monitoring student files to maintain compliance.
Other Special Education Departmental goals include 1) ongoing evaluation and analysis of
student data, 2) training and implementation of core intervention programs, 3)
demonstration of student growth toward proficiency in literacy, math, and written
language, and 4) training to improve special education paperwork and knowledge of special
education requirements for students. Finally, the department will focus on the right side
of the MTSS triangle to assist building staff in improving students’ challenging behaviors.
Building staff will be assisted by the Board Certified Behavior Analyst and three
Interventionalists. Effectiveness of the of the behavior intervention model and in achieving
these goals will be determined in part, by collecting data throughout the school year.
Data Assessment and Federal Grants The goal of the data assessment and Federal grants department is continued implementation
and analysis of student data at grade level, district, state and national levels to ensure that
we have more students learning more. This department has managed the data as well as
provided leadership to move Helena School District students forward academically.
Specifically, we have seen significant gains in national ACT sub scores when compared to
other AA districts across Montana as well as a tremendous jump in K-5 district math
proficiency as measured by a nationally normed product, Renaissance Learning. The
continued District goal of “more students learning more,” will led us through the 2015-
2016 school year with a specific focus on the areas of mathematics and literacy for all
students. Using District data to determine needs in the areas where we receive Federal grant
funding will help pinpoint areas of need with the goal of continued student success.
Human Resources/Business Services During the fall of 2015, the Human Resources and Business Services departments will
implement the benefits enrollment online computerized system. This system will allow
employees to understand, select benefit options, and enroll electronically for the cafeteria
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
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plan. It will replace tedious manual collection, editing and entry into the system and is
expected to kick off with the opening of the school year.
Other Departments Detailed information and goals for other departments and funds is included in the following
pages.
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
5
FY 2015 FY 2015 FY 2016
EXPENDITURE FINAL ACTUAL PROPOSED
DESCRIPTION BUDGET EXPENDITURES BUDGET
Administrative Salaries 2,032,923$ 2,042,262$ to be determined
Educator Salaries 17,354,367 17,312,892 63,000
Technical/Professional Salaries 3,538,527 3,670,010 to be determined
Office/Clerical Salaries 962,750 965,869 to be determined
Service Work Salaries 1,701,160 1,688,729 to be determined
Para-Educator Salaries 3,702,734 3,361,704 to be determined
Guest Teacher Salaries 288,050 319,208 291,880
Substitute Clerical Salaries 15,000 29,923 15,150
Temporary Service Worker Salaries 39,800 42,320 44,600
Substitute Para-Educator Salaries 54,108 137,206 54,000
Overtime 23,720 13,455 18,550
Sabbatical Salaries 38,792
Coaches Stipends 70,000 62,314 78,100
Educator/Admin Unused Personal Days 18,000 8,600 30,000
Termination Pay/Retirement Incentive 482,000 431,281 482,000
WC/Soc Sec/Medicare 201,200 118,553 to be determined
Undistributed Salary/Benefits/Waived Prem (187,135) 30,483,021
Subtotal Salaries/Benefits 30,523,131 30,017,191 31,497,301
Professional-Educational Services 10,485 15,986 9,415
Electricity 471,000 433,329 448,000
Water/Sewage 101,000 104,147 106,000
Garbage Collection 35,000 33,521 35,000
Repair/Maintenance Services 2,893 1,694 1,650
Rental of Equipment/Land/Bldg 18,535 20,104 19,520
Field Trips 9,700 8,647 9,100
Insurance - Not employee benefits 198,650 261,265 198,650
Telephone/cell/long distance 17,700 22,827 21,700
Internet Fees 5,950 1,482 4,076
Postage 18,781 20,046 19,075
Advertising 14,475 20,410 8,975
Printing/Binding/Duplicating 154,967 172,399 162,672
Travel In-district 47,649 47,304 to be determined
Team Travel 4,425
Travel/Prof Development 136,499 53,745 48,065
Supplies 525,820 440,948 504,990
Software 307,200 488,692 287,224
Gasoline 23,500 17,728 23,500
Books 370,634 485,375 220,207
Minor Equipment 10,033 62,248 31,385
Major Equipment 204,886 418,894 126,906
Dues and Fees 34,070 29,994 45,339
Other Uses of Funds:
Transfer to Multidistrict 250,000
Contingency 234,277 380,000
School Allocations 38,859
Authorized Budget 33,924,289$ 33,924,289$ 34,742,999$
(1) School allocations are supplemental allocations distributed after the fall count.
HELENA SCHOOL DISTRICT PROPOSED FY 2015-2016 BUDGET
ELEMENTARY GENERAL FUND
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
6
FY 2015 FY 2015 FY 2016
EXPENDITURE FINAL ACTUAL PROPOSED
DESCRIPTION BUDGET EXPENDITURES BUDGET
Administrative Salaries 1,106,945$ 1,121,882$ to be determined
Educator Salaries 11,908,939 11,951,809 to be determined
Technical/Professional Salaries 2,007,654 1,964,137 to be determined
Office/Clerical Salaries 991,636 964,110 to be determined
Service Work Salaries 905,460 918,843 to be determined
Para-Educator Salaries 751,069 671,484 to be determined
Guest Teacher Salaries 251,910 226,209 260,570
Substitute Clerical Salaries 8,290 16,386 8,440
Temporary Service Worker Salaries 29,800 15,209 27,500
Substitute Para-Educator Salaries 2,500 13,899 2,500
Overtime 13,600 10,516 15,450
Sabbatical Salaries 90,946 29,909
Coaches Stipends 682,948 664,307 575,050
Educator/ Admin Unused Personal Days 25,000 4,143 37,000
Termination Pay/Retirement Incentive 438,000 358,331 438,000
WC/Soc Sec/Medicare 145,000 80,313 to be determined
Undistributed Salary/Benefits/Waived Prem (56,441) 19,262,511
Subtotal Salaries/Benefits 19,359,697 18,955,046 20,627,021
Professional-Educational Services 10,112 16,720 7,200
Other Professional Services 72,930 71,132 144,519
Technical Services 39,569 42,635 41,320
Gas 335,000 237,465 380,000
Electricity 400,000 366,758 390,000
Water/Sewage 101,000 60,988 77,500
Garbage Collection 40,000 32,935 38,000
Repair/Maintenance Services 10,400 9,706 9,100
Rental of Equipment/Land/Bldg 7,100 3,699 4,200
Field Trips 7,150 5,114 6,500
Insurance - Not employee benefits 138,995 215,969 141,195
Telephone/cell/long distance 32,450 14,630 26,450
Internet Fees 6,169 926 4,969
Postage 20,210 17,915 21,627
Advertising 15,340 12,727 16,340
Printing/Binding/Duplicating 103,185 116,462 107,743
Travel In-district 27,047 30,857 to be determined
Team Travel 219,550 224,520 218,900
Travel/Prof Development 77,200 61,487 39,300
Supplies 545,505 380,245 502,749
Software 93,261 137,569 27,400
Gasoline 25,350 18,939 22,450
Books 88,405 332,251 88,849
Minor Equipment 45,975 114,134 61,977
Major Equipment 63,820 448,123 98,141
Dues and Fees 39,395 24,723 32,055
Other Uses of Funds:
Transfer to Multidistrict 20,000
Contingency 48,860 150,000
School Allocations 28,336
Authorized Budget 21,973,675$ 21,973,675$ 23,313,841$
(1) School allocations are supplemental allocations distributed after the fall count.
HELENA SCHOOL DISTRICT PROPOSED FY 2015-2016 BUDGET
HIGH SCHOOL GENERAL FUND
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
7
Salaries/Benefits91%
Operations9%
Elementary General Fund Budget 2015-16
Salaries/Benefits88.5%
Operations11.5%
High School General Fund Budget 2015-16
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
8
2015 FY 2016
REVENUE PROPOSED %
DESCRIPTION BUDGET BUDGET Change
Direct State Aid 12,881,768$ 13,248,166$ 3%
Special Ed. Allowable Costs 1,824,208 1,787,445 -2%
Guaranteed Tax Base 5,504,969 5,701,454 4%
Non-Levy Revenue 7,739 5,191 -33%
Base Levy 3,647,242 3,768,546 3%
Over-Base Levy 6,642,209 6,992,209 5%
Over-Base Tuition 215,970 7,849 -96%
State Block Grants 1,650,786 1,553,253 -6%
Natural Resources Development 91,798 148,732 62%
Quality Educator 1,120,630 1,145,158 2%
At Risk Student 99,610 116,876 17%
Indian Education For All 107,855 110,455 2%
American Indian Achievement Gap 50,200 51,865 3%
Data For Achievement 79,305 105,800 33%
Total Revenue 33,924,289$ 34,742,999$ 2%
MILLS LEVIED: 114.97 115.28
ANB:
K-6 4,107 4,113 actual
7-8 1,180 1,177 actual
TAXABLE VALUE: 89,028,019$ 93,354,867$ 5%
FY 2015 FY 2016
REVENUE PROPOSED %
DESCRIPTION BUDGET BUDGET Change
Direct State Aid 8,914,708$ 9,044,191$ 1%
Special Ed. Allowable Costs 610,827 591,494 -3%
Guaranteed Tax Base 3,612,497 3,687,701 2%
Non-Levy Revenue 3,800 8,592 126%
Base Levy 2,404,188 2,439,200 1%
Over-Base Levy 4,309,929 4,398,425 2%
Over-Base Tuition 8,601 3,090 -64%
State Block Grants 1,200,344 1,141,850 -5%
Natural Resources Development 63,528 101,535 60%
Quality Educator 659,621 676,642 3%
At Risk Student 44,039 64,082 46%
Indian Education For All 62,118 62,724 1%
American Indian Achievement Gap 33,800 34,235 1%
Data for Achievement 45,675 60,080 32%
Total Revenue 21,973,675$ 22,313,841$ 2%
MILLS LEVIED: 60.04 59.31
ANB: 3,045 3,004 3 Yr Aver
TAXABLE VALUE 111,124,592$ 115,304,637$ 4%
State Funding Increase 2.3%
HELENA SCHOOL DISTRICT PROPOSED FY 2015-2016 REVENUE BUDGET
ELEMENTARY GENERAL FUND
HELENA SCHOOL DISTRICT PROPOSED FY 2015-2016 REVENUE BUDGET
HIGH SCHOOL GENERAL FUND
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
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Other Budgeted Funds – 2002-16
Elementary Mill Levies - last fifteen years
Bus Adult Bldg DebtGeneral Trans Depr Tuition Ed Tech Flex Reserve Service
2002 116.68 13.93 0.60 2.00 12.72 7.42 2003 118.51 15.02 0.59 2.00 0.67 12.46 8.12 2004 120.06 14.02 0.79 2.00 8.32 8.23 2005 119.17 14.88 0.79 2.25 8.07 9.60 2006 119.31 18.82 0.78 2.42 7.52 7.52 8.10 2007 117.49 17.27 2.21 7.26 7.26 7.72 2008 114.86 17.67 0.61 6.79 13.04 7.47 2009 114.45 22.71 1.02 1.67 6.60 12.68 7.82 2010 114.69 19.18 2.52 6.27 12.04 6.39 2011 112.22 22.83 3.89 6.05 11.63 7.05 2012 113.17 19.36 3.86 5.92 11.37 6.97 2013 113.01 19.67 4.38 5.86 11.26 0.69 2014 112.60 24.48 0.94 3.24 5.70 10.96 - 2015 114.97 28.62 0.05 2.79 5.85 14.04 - 2016 115.28 18.29 0.37 2.40 5.58 13.39 0.45
145.93
149.25
145.19
145.16
156.37
151.49 152.97
159.13
154.7
156.62
153.68
154.18
157.92
166.32
155.31
130
135
140
145
150
155
160
165
170
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Mills
Fiscal Year
Elementary Mill Levies Excluding Debt Service2002-2016
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
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High School Levies - last fifteen years
Bus Adult Bldg DebtGeneral Trans Depr Tuition Ed Tech Flex Reserve Service
2002 72.94 4.40 0.53 0.13 2.00 7.20 5.67 2003 73.72 6.04 0.53 0.04 1.95 0.24 7.10 6.89 2006 69.74 7.40 0.59 2.62 6.42 6.37 7.64 2007 69.25 5.35 0.03 2.62 6.20 6.15 6.88 2008 63.65 6.89 2.09 5.81 5.71 6.53 2009 62.72 6.91 1.33 4.28 5.63 5.53 6.11 2010 62.15 6.62 0.70 5.99 5.39 5.30 5.96 2011 62.73 5.58 1.05 5.35 5.21 5.12 6.24 2012 60.76 4.96 1.28 4.82 5.10 5.02 6.54 2013 58.72 5.16 5.14 5.05 4.96 5.99 2014 59.80 8.06 3.61 4.89 4.81 5.02 2015 60.04 7.71 0.27 2.11 5.03 4.81 5.02 2016 59.31 6.66 0.91 1.59 4.85 4.81 6.50
87.20
89.62
93.14
89.60
84.15
86.40 86.15
85.04 81.94
79.03
81.17
79.97 78.13
70.00
75.00
80.00
85.00
90.00
95.00
2002 2003 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Mil
ls
Fiscal Year
High School Mill Levies Excluding Debt Service2002-2016
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
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History of Taxable Valuations – Helena School District #1 Elementary and High School
Fiscal Year Elementary % change High School % change
2001 59,365,037 101.65% 76,383,166 95.04%
2002 60,512,771 101.93% 77,121,547 100.97%
2005 64,428,519 103.08% 81,371,382 103.09%
2006 69,175,840 107.37% 87,169,925 107.13%
2007 71,650,218 103.58% 90,299,409 103.59%
2008 76,708,606 107.06% 96,262,143 106.60%
2009 78,882,371 102.83% 99,383,267 103.24%
2010 83,027,698 105.26% 103,816,296 104.46%
2011 87,562,975 105.46% 107,360,198 103.41%
2012 87,967,076 100.46% 109,639,585 102.12%
2013 88,818,771 100.97% 110,845,060 101.10%
2014 91,268,261 102.76% 114,384,554 103.19%
2015 89,028,019 97.55% 111,124,592 97.15%
2016 93,354,867 104.86% 115,304,637 103.76%
0
20000000
40000000
60000000
80000000
100000000
120000000
140000000
2002 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
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Summary – Other Levied Funds Transportation Fund: Accounts for activity relating to student transportation to and from
school except for field and activity related trips.
Transportation Funds Elementary High School
County Reimbursement - On schedule $473,347 $170,705
State Reimbursement - On schedule 473,374 170,705
SD #4 fees 39,356 -0-
School Block Grants 113,333 44,161
District Tax Levy 1,707,915 768,205
Interest 750 400
Cash Re-appropriated 857,060 294,594
2015-16 Adopted Budget $3,665,109 $1,448,770
2015-16 Levies 18.29 6.66
Prior Year Adopted Budget $3,800,000 $1,315,000
Prior Year Levies 28.62 7.71
The budgets for the Transportation Funds combined encompass a variety of underlying
expenditures: contracted bus services, fuel, wages, video/gps equipment and routing
software. The Elementary Transportation Funds decreased by approximately 4% for 2015-
16 because of decreased costs of routes and a reduced contingency over the previous year.
The High School Transportation budget increased by $133,770 again because of routing
changes. Mills for both district decreased because of a combination of increased taxable
valuations and cash re-appropriated. The current year adjustment for the transportation
contractor is .8% based on the Consumer Price Index, as defined in the transportation
contract. For budgeting purposes, diesel fuel prices are estimated at $4.25/gallon.
Employee salaries and benefits for district staff that provide support for transportation
services were adjusted per the collective bargaining agreements.
Helena Public Schools operates 46 regular education busses and 15 Special needs buses
that serve approximately 3,210 students daily. These busses travel approximately 745,200
miles annually. The strategy to provide additional classroom space at Jim Darcy has
reduced the need for overflow bussing from the north valley. This strategy coupled with
routing efficiencies that modified the use of middle and high school busses allowed the
district to reduce the number of bus routes in 2015-16 which accounts for the overall budget
reduction. The variables associated with student location as it relates to schools of
attendance when providing pre-school - 12 special needs, Montessori and homeless student
transportation continues to be a challenge. The contingency within this budget anticipates
that the district will have to add transportation services for these programs as the school
year progresses.
Tuition Fund: This fund accounts for tuition payments and related costs for students who
are residents of Helena but are enrolled in another district. The high school levy includes
payments for detention center charges for Helena students. The tuition fund laws were
expanded starting in 2013-14 to permit districts to pay for costs associated with intensive
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
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need special education identified students. The elementary district funds one FTE nurse
from the elementary district and 2 FTE special education resource teachers from the high
school district.
Tuition Funds Elementary High School
Cash Re-appropriated $9,568 $10,554
District Levy 34,172 104,446
2015-16 Adopted Budget $43,740 $115,000
2015-16 Levies .37 .91
Prior Year Adopted Budget $46,000 $116,000
Prior Year Levies .05 .27
Retirement Fund: Accounts for the District portion of employer taxes for employee
retirement plans, social security, Medicaid, and unemployment taxes. The levy is county
wide for all school districts and is set by the County Commissioners. Employment taxes
relating to federal grants can not be paid from this fund and are required to be paid from
each grant.
Retirement Funds Elementary High School
County Share
Interest
$4,542,095
1,200
$3,125,593
800
Cash Re-appropriated 579,705 233,607
2015-16 Adopted Budget $5,123,000 $3,360,000
2015-16 Levies N/A N/A
Prior Year Adopted Budget $5,300,000 $3,350,000
Prior Year Levies N/A N/A
Adult Education Fund: The adult education fund accounts for all activity relating to the
district adult education program. This program has three components: the traditional adult
education program, adult enrichment courses and Access to Success. The traditional
program includes adult basic education (ABE), English as a Second Language (ESL), and
High School Equivalency Testing (HiSET) prep. The budget cannot be used for persons
who are less than 16 years of age and who are regularly enrolled, full-time pupils for the
purposes of ANB computation. Students are from all cultures, nationalities, and range of
abilities - from ESL to post-secondary education. Additionally, the ALC (Adult Learning
Center) provides individual assessment for various purposes during the year and open
entry/exit educational opportunities. The Center staff works with many referring agencies
and within a tri-county area for students in need of HiSET preparation.
The Adult Basic Education/HiSET program is housed on the Helena College campus as a
joint effort to increase student educational opportunities and graduation. The ABE program
will be required to become compliant with the “Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act” (WIOA). This shift from the old “Workforce Investment Act” will require a unified
state plan where all of the Montana ABE programs will be required to develop a work plan
to begin implementation including three new Title II Activities; 1) Integrated education
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
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and training, 2) Workforce preparation activities, 3) Integrated English Literacy and Civics
(IEL/CE). The following criteria will be used to measure our program progress:
1. Percentage of program participants employed during the second quarter after exit,
2. Percentage of program participants employed during the fourth quarter after exit,
3. Median earnings of program participants,
4. Percentage of participants who obtain a postsecondary credential,
5. Percentage of participants who during the program year achieve a measurable skill
gain,
6. Effectiveness in serving employers.
The Adult/Community Enrichment program is administered by the Helena College. The
school district pays a portion of the advertising and some administration costs.
Access To Success, the adult education transition/dropout reengagement program, began
operations in the spring of 2009. This educational opportunity targets those who are
severely at-risk or who have completely dropped out of high school. Access to Success is
a high school diploma completion program. All coursework is provided in an adult
learning environment and is housed on the Helena College campus. Eligibility is limited
to those who are at least 16 years of age, meet minimum reading levels, and are not
currently enrolled in school. Those not meeting eligibility requirements will be referred to
other skill building programs within the district (ABE). The Helena School District, along
with the Office of Public Instruction and the Montana School Boards Association,
continues to explore permanent funding through legislation for alternative diploma
programs. Under the guidance of the OPI, Helena no longer collects ANB funding for
Access to Success Students and follows statues for the education of students who are over
the age limit. This program is staffed by certified Helena School District teachers. The
goal of the District is to continue to transfer of Access operations to other funding sources
in the next three years. Currently 2.5 FTE are funded from other sources. Access is not
currently offering a night program as in the past but is exploring options to provide
flexibility to working individuals seeking high school credit.
Adult Education Funds Elementary High School
Interest and other revenue $200 $200
District Tax Levy 223,660 183,067
Cash Re-appropriated 91,140 166,733
2015-16 Adopted Budget $315,000 $350,000
2015-16 Levies 2.40 1.59
Prior Year Adopted Budget $338,000 $390,500
Prior Year Levies 2.79 2.11
Technology Fund: The technology fund is used to support the operational and equipment
procurement costs to support school districts technology. Operational costs include
personnel, annual software maintenance/licensing, network connections, repair parts, and
consumable supplies. The balance of this fund is used to purchase equipment that supports
the academic and administrative functions of the district.
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
15
The three overarching issues with technology in the district are consistency, complexity,
and reliability. Over the past year, in the consistency goal, the department expanded the
use of management systems to provide more consistency in the classroom and office.
Simplicity and reliability were increased through the continued reconfiguration and
replacement of key infrastructure, such as the wireless system. The District continued to
utilize opportunities for cost effectiveness including the utilization of cloud services where
appropriate. For example, the new website, emergency notification, email, and
collaboration systems use the cloud to more effectively and efficiently communicate with
students, parents, staff and the community.
The department completed a number of critical infrastructure projects over the past year.
The wireless project was completed and network capacity between district buildings and
Internet connectivity was increased. Other projects included the deployment of virtual
desktop infrastructure and the mirroring data and infrastructure services between Helena
Middle School and Capital High School for redundancy and high availability.
The success of the wireless project which was wrapped up last year, was not known until
after school started. By the middle of the year, the wireless system supported over 5,000
simultaneous connections. In the future, the district expects to support over 6,500
simultaneous wireless connections. The wireless network project enabled the district to
purchase online text books for the World Cultures and World Languages curriculum
adoption (2013-14).
The network capacity between the district’s buildings and the Internet was upgraded. This
was a significant capacity upgrade, and provided a cost savings to the district. All district
buildings are supported by 2Gbps fiber and are connected to Helena Middle School and
Capital High School by a 20Gbps fiber backbone. Internet capacity was increased fivefold
to 1Gbps. The district is using almost 60% of that capacity today.
Between the wireless and connectivity upgrades, the district saw significantly fewer
outages. These upgrades allowed testing/assessments with high speed, low latency, and
reliable connections to our assessment providers. The end result was reduced technology
frustration and higher confidence in the results. The department deployed a virtual desktop
infrastructure environment for additional capabilities to achieve a consistent experience.
In the past, district had one location where all data and key infrastructure services were
held. Over the last year, the technology department began to build Capital High School as
a redundant location to the systems at Helena Middle School. Today, the district’s
information, such as PowerSchool is now stored at both Helena Middle School and Capital
High School simultaneously. In the future, the goal is to provide uninterrupted services to
the district, even in the event of a catastrophic event at either location.
In the upcoming year the department will continue to enhance and increase the use of the
management systems with the goal of providing anytime, anywhere, any device access to
information in a consistent manner. Simplicity and reliability will be increased through the
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
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reconfiguration and replacement of outdated wired network equipment. Reliability will
also continue to be increased through projects to provide battery backup power for
telephone and network services in the buildings. The district will also be implementing a
system to continue operations from another location and expand the use of cloud services.
Some projects that are planned for this year include:
1. Expand Virtual Desktop Infrastructure - $105,000 (estimated). This project is to
further expand the use of the technology within the district. It includes adding
additional capacity to the storage, computing power, and software licenses. This
project provides the ability to use Windows applications on non-Windows devices,
or personally owned devices.
2. Wide Area Network Upgrade - $41,000 (estimated). This project replaces outdated
network routing and switching equipment at CR Anderson, Helena Middle,
Capital High, and Helena High Schools. The purpose is to provide redundancy and
capabilities in these schools and to set the path for additional network capacity and
bandwidth.
3. Network Systems Reliability - $55,000 (estimated). The use of the network and
the systems is not just for academics and operations, but also for safety and
security. Cameras and communications systems run over the same network, which
adds to the criticality of the network. This project has two parts which includes
providing additional intelligent battery backup systems in the schools to keep the
network up in the event of a power outage. The second part is to add computing
capacity at Capital High School to serve as a redundant site to Helena Middle
School.
4. Internet Capacity Enhancements - $55,000 one time and $24,000 re-occurring per
year (estimated). The district has seen exponential growth in the use of the Internet
over the last two years. If the trend continues, the district will need to add another
1Gbps Internet service before the start of the 2016 school year. Not only will this
provide the district with additional capacity, but this circuit will built to be
redundant of the existing service already provided. This will provide the highest
level of availability and redundancy for instruction.
5. Wireless Network Expansion - $45,000 (estimated). The current wireless network
simultaneously supports 5,000 devices using 300 wireless access points. excluding
1,500 Chromebooks that were recently purchased for the World Cultures/World
Languages curriculum for the 2015 school year. The purpose of this project is to
place a wireless access point in each of the classrooms that utilizes a Chromebook
cart. This will provide the capacity to support the multitude of wireless devices
that are present in each classroom.
Technology Funds Elementary High School
Interest and other revenue $650 $650
E-rate and State payments 253,370 164,112
District Tax Levy 520,500 559,500
Cash Re-appropriated 848,870 628,138
2015-16 Adopted Budget $1,623,390 $1,352,400
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
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2015-16 Levies 5.58 4.85
Prior Year Adopted Budget $1,630,826 $1,326,497
Prior Year Levies 5.85 5.03
Debt Service Fund: Accounts for the accumulation of resources for the payment of the
current portion of general long term debt, principal, interest, agent fees, and special
assessments (storm water drainage, lights, street maintenance etc) from the City of Helena
and Lewis and Clark County. The Helena Elementary amount is for SID’s only. The
Kessler issue retires in six years and as per the consolidation, only Kessler resident
taxpayers are responsible for that levy. The high school district has two issues which retire
in 2016 and 2017.
Debt Service Funds Elementary Kessler High School
District Tax Levy $42,230 $13,857 $679,038
Cash Re-appropriated 67,770 478 426,912
2014-15 Adopted Budget $110,000 $14,335 $1,105,950
2014-15 Levies 5.15 2.40 5.89
Prior Year Adopted Budget $105,000 $14,605 $1,102,700
Prior Year Levies -0- 2.63 5.01
Building Reserve Fund: The voters approved both Elementary District and High School
District building reserve levies in November of 2013. The Elementary District receives
$1,250,000 annually and the High School District receives $750,000 annually for 10 years.
This fund accounts for the voter approved Elementary and High School district building
projects. The entire projected cash balance must be budgeted in addition to the tax levy in
order to be spent.
The building reserve funds are used to support the district's capital improvement and
deferred maintenance programs. The majority of this work is focused on code compliance,
safety and replacement of building systems that have reached the end of their service
life. Major projects completed this past year or that are in progress this summer
include: 34,000 sf roofing replacement/structural upgrades at HHS, portable classroom
installation at Jim Darcy, Bryant ES Gym roof replacement, asbestos removal/boiler burner
replacement at HHS, replacement of 15,000 sf of flooring at various schools, CRA gym
floor restoration, Four Georgians SPED expansion, Bryant exhaust fan installation, CHS
boy’s locker room upgrades, Bryant gym furnace replacement, CHS/HHS/CRA/HMS
elevator repairs/code compliance, FSLC fire main rupture/fire suppression system code
upgrades, HHS Science wing floor slab repairs, HHS/CHS gym floor re-finish,
CHS/HHS/Vigilante athletic field restoration, Vigilante stadium light re-wiring/repairs,
CRA electrical service upgrade, stand-alone classroom re-roofing at Lincoln/Jim
Darcy/CRA, storage building construction at Lincoln/FSLC/CRA, IT Center construction
at HMS, playground improvements at Smith/Lincoln/Broadwater, Kessler irrigation well
repairs, HVAC controls upgrades at HHS/CHS/Kessler, CHS classroom construction, CHS
textbook library construction and a variety of system repairs performed by the maintenance
department.
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
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Major projects under consideration for 2016 include: HHS gym roof replacement, HMS
boiler replacement/asbestos removal, Jefferson re-roofing, Kessler re-roofing, Warren re-
roofing, Broadwater re-roofing, HHS re-roofing, CHS re-roofing, Four Georgians fire
alarm, Rossiter flood mitigation (partnership with county), MBC heating controls upgrades
and district wide playground upgrades. The 2015-16 project recommendations will be
further defined and presented to the Board Facility Committee for consideration at the
conclusion of this year’s construction season after the final project costs for 2015 have
been reconciled.
Building Reserve Funds Elementary High School
Interest and other revenue $300 $650
District Tax Levy 1,250,000 750,000
Cash Re-appropriated 922,379 803,683
2015-16 Adopted Budget $2,172,679 $1,102,700
2015-16 Levies 13.39 6.50
Prior Year Adopted Budget $1,262,911 $1,229,841
Prior Year Levies 14.04 6.75
Elementary District
Fund 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 Trend
General 31,095,701 31,728,674 32,255,997 32,844,243 33,924,289 34,742,999
Transportation 3,028,923 2,957,855 3,329,450 3,450,000 3,800,000 3,665,108
Tuition 96,532 46,000 43,740
Retirement 4,650,000 4,387,000 4,250,000 5,550,000 5,300,000 5,123,000
Adult Education 334,500 451,000 393,800 401,200 338,000 315,000
Technology 1,350,804 1,243,193 1,398,767 1,554,854 1,630,826 1,623,390
Building Reserve 2,481,101 1,289,361 1,694,643 1,975,747 1,262,911 2,172,679
Debt Service Helena 944,768 951,338 418,688 135,000 105,000 110,000
Debt Service Kessler 14,716 14,491 13,140 12,740 14,605 14,335
Totals 43,900,513 43,022,912 43,754,485 46,020,316 46,421,631 47,810,251
High School District
General 20,874,714 20,920,925 21,112,519 21,799,855 21,973,675 22,313,841
Transportation 1,072,222 1,057,810 1,130,000 1,300,000 1,315,000 1,448,770
Tuition 113,000 140,000 10,000 15,000 116,000 115,000
Retirement 3,225,000 2,892,000 2,800,000 3,500,000 3,350,000 3,360,000
Adult Education 619,000 627,775 592,150 474,850 390,500 350,000
Technology 1,241,447 1,109,100 1,144,157 1,130,131 1,326,497 1,352,400
Building Reserve 2,471,839 2,129,543 2,361,683 2,240,360 1,229,841 1,554,333
Debt Service Helena 1,144,428 1,142,468 1,093,968 1,109,950 1,102,700 1,105,950
Totals 30,761,650 30,019,621 30,244,477 31,570,146 30,804,213 31,600,294
History of Adopted Budgets - levied funds only
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
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Non-Budgeted Funds State law does not require the trustees to adopt a budget for the following funds:
Liability Fund – This fund is authorized to pay for the liability and building
comprehensive insurance and legal costs related to potential claims against the district. It
was established with seed money from the various funds several years ago. In order to
operate, this fund assess all other appropriate funds a portion of the annual liability
insurance premium. The liability insurance premium for 2015-16 is $506,982. The
beginning balance of this fund is $287,494.
Multi-District Fund – This fund was created in March, 2012 with year-end transfers from
the elementary and high school general funds. The current balance is $720,822 and there
are no plans for expending this balance in the current school year. It has been earmarked
for transitional expenses and or instructional needs.
High School Scholarship Fund – this fund was created decades ago by large legacies
from 1) a former teacher, 2) a well-wisher and 3) from minor donations of others. The
districts hold the funds in trust and legally restricted to spend the interest earnings only for
Helena High School scholarships. The cash balance (principal) is $231,391.
Activities – “284” The Activities budget for 2015-16 has been established at $297,000 and
includes revenue from advertising, and a mandatory facilities rental surcharge. In addition,
an expenditure transfer of officials’ salaries of approximately $50,000 was budgeted in the
High School general fund. These modifications were made to stabilize the account rather
than increase event prices or student “pay to play” fees.
Print-Shop: The district print-shop is responsible for duplication services and the on-site
school copier leases. Last year the print-shop printed 7.3 million copies down slightly from
the previous year. The number of print jobs was 33,366 in 2014-15 (about the same as the
previous year.) Revenues from printing were a stable $278,598. The budget for 2014-15
is projected to be $265,000. The department will solicit pricing for the two large copiers
that are operated at the facilities below the Helena Middle School. During the summer, the
entire fleet of leased small copiers (on site at the schools and departments) was replaced.
In order to absorb the increased leased costs, the copier charges will be increased slightly.
The department is staffed by 1.468 FTE staff. Per copy printing costs will increase to 3.5
cents per page.
Warehouse: The budget for the warehouse is based on supply sales internally to all
schools and departments. Approximately 1,000 orders were received and shipped from the
art, paper and office supplies that are warehoused beneath HMS next to the print-shop.
This is about the same as the past several years. In addition, the warehouse receives and
processed all purchase orders - 967 in FY15 (again about the same as previous years). A
final service provided by the warehouse is interschool mail delivery which includes internal
mail, items received from purchase orders, from the art, paper, and office supplies, and
print-shop print jobs. The district employs 1.468 FTE staff for warehouse activities. The
Helena School District #1 Budget 2015-16
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budget for 2014-15 establishes revenues at $70,000 and expenditures at $125,000. The
shortage will be funded from the cash balance of $93,140. Other than salaries, purchases
of supplies are the largest expenditure and dependent on inventory balances and sales.
School Aged Child Care: The SACC program is located at every elementary site, except
Bryant which has a program in a partnership with YMCA. The before school sites are
located at Rossiter and Jefferson Elementary schools. The program provides child care
and enrichment activities for students K-5 year round. The fund operates as a private
business would – charging tuition for care to cover all costs associated with the program.
Tuition revenues for 2014-15 were $660,250 ($690,049 last year), federal food
reimbursements of $71,653 ($72,842 last year) and interest of $423 ($170 last year.)
Expenses last year totaled $616,622 ($622,693 last year). 85% of the total expenses were
for salaries and benefits. Tuition was not increased for the 2014-15. About 400 students
are enrolled for the school year program and 110 are enrolled for the summer program.
The fund is budgeted is to break-even at $750,000 with wages projected to be $600,000
and food at $51,000.
Self-Insurance Fund: The Self-Insurance fund was established by the Board of Trustees
as allowed by state law in 1992. Rather than paying insurance premiums to an outside
private insurance company, the premiums are paid into this fund that is owned by the
district. Medical, dental, and vision claims are processed weekly by an independent third
party administrator (Allegiance) for an administrative fee. The revenues from employee
premiums, retirees, COBRA and rebates were $8,540,999 while the claims paid for
employees, stop loss, employees, administrative fees and wellness incentives were
$8,019,213 for a net increase over the previous year of $521,786. The cash balance as of
the end of the fiscal year was $13,700,833. Because of the reserve balance, the trustees
did not increase premiums. As a result, the budget for the next school year is expected to
be approximately $8,541,000 and the cash balance is expected to increase again but at a
lessor rate since health insurance costs are expected to increase. The fund realized savings
of slightly over $44,000 for the $10 co-pay plans at Cost-Care and St. Petes.