‘Outdated learning environments’: Helena district asks voters for $238M for aging schools
By Sonny Tapia
Editor’s Note: This story is the first in a three-part series regarding the upcoming school bond election on Sept. 9, with ballots set to be mailed Aug. 22.
The Helena Public Schools board of trustees unanimously voted in June to present $283 million in bond issues to voters to address three schools with aging facilities.
Helena and Capital high schools and Kessler Elementary School would be impacted by the bonds, if passed by voters on Sept. 9. Ballots will be sent out Aug. 22 and must be received by the Lewis and Clark County Elections office by 8 p.m. Sept. 9.
“Across our Helena Public Schools, our buildings are aging — the average facility is over 70 years old — and decades of deferred maintenance have taken a toll,” district officials said. “Failing systems, outdated learning environments: if our buildings could speak, they’d be telling us that they can’t keep up with the needs of our students.”
Helena High School, 1300 Billings Ave., would be replaced as a part of the high school district’s $240 million bond cut if voters decide to pursue the district’s ask.
If the bonds pass, the tax impact on homeowners of a $100,000 home would be about $85 annually, on a $300,000 home would be about $260 annually and on a $500,000 home would be roughly $470 annually.
Students at the high school have cited multiple times in public comment portions of meetings, public and other gatherings that the school was infested with bugs that scurried around students sitting on the floor, plants growing through cracks in classrooms and crumbling infrastructure.
During the 2024-2025 school year, the high school had just under 1,000 students.
One of the biggest talking points among administrative staff and community members has been the school’s boiler system.
Three boilers operate the school’s heat throughout winters that plummet to minus 30 degrees, if not colder. Currently, only two boilers are in operational status, with one teetering on the brink of failure.
Todd Verrill, facilities director for the school district, has said it is not a matter of “if” the boiler fails, but “when.”
“That means I’ll have to put Helena kids in Capital (High School) from 6 a.m. to noon, then the next group of students would be in from noon until 6 p.m.,” Superintendent Rex Weltz said during a June 10 board meeting.
Verrill added the two high schools have about $50 million total in deferred maintenance.
Helena High School would be completely rebuilt, possibly on its current parking lot, officials said.
Kessler Elementary School, 2420 Choteau St., is the district’s oldest school following the closure of Hawthorne, officials said, and would be rebuilt possibly on the soccer field to move it off U.S. Highway 12.
During a June 26 tour of the nearly 90-year-old building, school officials highlighted the need for a rebuilt school, citing its separation due to a modular unit toward the back of the campus and an “eye sore” of a fence placed on the highway side of the school to keep students away from traffic.
“It wasn’t designed to last for 89 years. Schools are typically designed to last probably between 50 and 70 years,” he said. “Kessler has had seven major remodels or additions over the years.”
During the tour, Principal Riley Thatcher said students in classes that used the district’s breakout opportunities would sit with coats in stairwells during the winter.
Besides coats in stairwells and a safety concern of having students too close to U.S. Highway 12, Americans with Disabilities Act issues were added to conversations throughout the district during the tour and meetings with the board.
There are no elevators in Kessler, which impeded some students’ ability to access classrooms.
“We could install elevators, but does that make the most sense in an older building?” Weltz said.
In order to accommodate students with disabilities, Thatcher said, “We’ve done it in the past with a broken leg, so this teacher would have to trade with somebody upstairs.”
Capital High School would see a heavy renovation due to its “good bones;” it would not need to be demolished and rebuilt.
The bonds wouldn’t only impact the two high schools and elementary school. Project for Alternative Learning (PAL) would also get a new facility, as it’s currently outgrowing its present facility, according to Weltz.The school district’s kitchen, now located at Capital, would be moved to allow for more space and accessibility, officials said.
The district could see a new competition field for the high schools and hold state tournaments along with soccer at Vigilante Stadium.
Deferred maintenance across the district has reached over $110 million due to a lack of upkeep on the district’s needs over time and a lack in adequate state funding, according to the district.
“I don’t have enough money to ever catch up with deferred maintenance or with additions, or you know, renovations, or any of those things,” Verrill said. “I can’t afford to make do with the money I have.”But, if bonds pass, SMA Architecture and Design officials said 43% of the maintenance would be covered, shrinking the total to roughly $62.7 million.
SMA is an architectural firm with offices in Helena that helped the district formulate a facilities master plan over a multi-year period. The plan was meant to act as a road map for the board of trustees when thinking about the long-term validity of the district.During a tour of Helena High, architectural firm officials added inflationary construction costs would continue to rise based on projections.
“If people are struggling with the amount (of the bonds), then it’s certainly not going down,” SMA Partner Tim Meldrum said. “… It’s the probability of something worse happening, meaning system failures or something like that where it’s less useable.”
Due to the inability to legally advocate for the bonds, Yes! for Helena Schools along with the Helena Area Chamber of Commerce took the reins for campaign efforts in support of the school district.Events like Brown Bags and Bonds, Bonds and Brews and school tours have allowed the public to see firsthand what students, teachers and staff have talked about.
“It was really important for us this year to get involved with this. We’ve endorsed levies in the past, and we endorsed the bonds back in 2017, but this year we wanted to play a much more active role because our school system and our school district really impacts economic development and business success in Helena,” Callie Aschim, CEO of the chamber, said.She called the school system the “heart” of communities and added statistically when school districts are strong, communities are strong.
“If you invest in your kids, what has historically shown is that kids then come back and invest in their communities,” Aschim said.Despite support for the bonds from various groups, the issues remained in contention for some community members.
Craig Martin, a community member and district parent, said he felt the school district has failed its students through the education system.
Martin added there was no way he would be supporting the bonds on the Sept. 9 ballot. “Hell no,” he said.
Martin had gripes with his property taxes rising without the money going toward student accountability. He paid between $15,000 and $18,000 per year in property taxes, but has not seen the benefits in the school system.
He has four children who’ve went through the Helena school district, with one in high school, but said if he could do it all over again they would go to a private school like St. Andrews Catholic School.Some high schoolers that come to his business for summer jobs could not do basic math, he said.
“Our schools have turned into a joke in Helena,” Martin said.
During the first Bonds and Brews gathering, Weltz spoke about the issues within the district and a time frame.”If we have a successful bond and we pass that Sept. 9, we have three years to get through Helena High to maintain that building so that we can get into a new building in the fall of 2028,” Weltz said. “… We haven’t failed over and over for years … data shows the Helena community has passed levies for years. We just recently had a couple that didn’t, so I wouldn’t say Helena collectively doesn’t support schools, because that’s not the case.”
Coming next: What the bonds would do for the Helena Public Schools district and its three schools.
Photo credits:
Superintendent Rex Weltz speaks to a crowd of people during a Bonds and Brews event July 15, holding a piece of pipe that came out of Helena High School. SONNY TAPIA, Independent RecordAttendees of a Helena High School tour view the boiler system at the school July 22.
SONNY TAPIA, Independent RecordRiley Thatcher, principal of Kessler Elementary School, leads a tour of the school on June 26.
THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record
CEO of the Helena Area Chamber of Commerce Callie Aschim speaks during a July 15 Bonds and Brews event ahead of a Sept. 9 bond vote for the Helena Public Schools district.
SONNY TAPIA, Independent Record