Latest news with #HB515
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Libby Public Schools seek mill levy for maintenance costs
Apr. 11—Rising maintenance and insurance costs have led Libby Public School to seek a mill levy in the upcoming May 6 school election. School Superintendent Ron Goodman said the levy would be permanent and generate $250,000 annually. The money would primarily be used for roof replacement or repairs as well as parking lot maintenance at the high school. "Roofing is one of our major facilities maintenance expenses," Goodman told The Western News during an interview Wednesday morning. "Libby Schools has nearly six acres of roofs. Replacing one pod at Libby Elementary will cost roughly $400,000. Before Covid the cost of a new roof was $200,000." The estimated annual costs of the levy are $15.83 each year for a house with a market value of $100,000. For a house valued at $300,000, the estimated increase would be $47.48 annually. For a house valued at $600,000, the annual increase would be $94.95. Goodman said he is sympathetic to what taxpayers are going through with rising property tax rates at the state level. "I get it, it's a hardship, but we're working to stay ahead of doing complete roof replacements and we're also working to get away from using diesel-powered boilers to heat the middle high school," he said. "This summer, we'll be doing a roof fix with a new layer on the Middle High School. We're also doing a roof refurbishment on the Brown Pod at the Elementary School." According to reporting in other media outlets, the Montana Legislature is considering ways to lower property taxes, but nothing is certain at this point. Another bill in the state House of Representatives seeks to help school districts with rising maintenance costs. According to reporting in the Montana Free Press ( House Bill 515 seeks a one-time transfer of $75 million from the General Fund surplus to a special school facilities trust in order to elevate annual interest earnings. The money earned for the facilities trust would create an annual payment for major maintenance needs, capped at $40,000. The bill received large support in the House last week and reached the Senate on April 5. It was referred to the Senate Education and Cultural Resources Committee on April 7. "HB 515 would be great if it passes and that would help," Goodman said. "But the mill levy would provide a longstanding solution." Goodman said roof repairs are highly preferred because of the cost savings. "If we get them fixed before they get too bad, the cost is about 45% less than replacing an entire roof," he said. The district is doing a roof project at the Middle High School this summer. A new layer of synthetic rubber roofing membrane is being added to the existing roof. The rubber roofing is preferred on low slope or flat roofs because of durability, weather resistance and lifespan. He also explained the school district's efforts to move away from diesel-powered heat systems. "We spend $800 per week to heat the gym because of the cost of diesel fuel," Goodman said. "It's why we went to heat pumps at the elementary school. That is saving us $20,000 per year in electricity costs." Goodman said the school has chip-sealed areas of the parking lot at the Middle High School to keep things going. "Parking lot maintenance would be done in phases due to the costs, but it's something that needs attention pretty quickly," Goodman said. Rising insurance costs have also negatively impacted the school district. Goodman said the district's insurance premiums increased by $106,000 from 2021 to 2025. Goodman said for those that have questions about the levy, they can call him at 293-8877.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Texas House bill would ban cellphones in schools: 'Kids are facing a mental health crisis'
Modeled by a national and statewide trend to lessen instances of bullying and keep students focused in schools, an Austin-area legislator is seeking to ban cellphones in Texas classrooms. Texas House Bill 515 by Rep. Ellen Troxclair, R-Marble Falls, would require Texas school districts to adopt a policy prohibiting students from using their personal electronic devices during the day and have them place their cellphones in a lockable container or specified location. Amid myriad concerns such as bullying, student focus and teachers' ability to manage a classroom, there has been a recent uptick in legislation similar to Troxclair's filed across the country, a move that has largely been praised by mental health researchers but has left some parents worried about not having easy access to their children during the school day, especially during emergencies. Troxclair's main drive to file the bill was the harmful mental health effects of social media and students' ability to access that content during the school day, she said. Social media use contributes to bullying issues, she said. 'It is no surprise that our kids are facing a mental health crisis, and we've seen that play out a lot of different ways,' Troxclair said. 'It's very clear now with the data that we have that a big driver of the increase in suicide and mental health is because of social media.' Troxclair also pointed to research that indicates cellphones distract students from focusing on academics during the school day. 'It's impossible for a teacher to compete with an addictive device that's in kids' pockets,' Troxclair said. The bill would require schools to make a district-provided phone accessible to students during the day to contact parents if needed, and it would allow students who need to use a personal device because of a medical condition to have access to their personal phone if they provide a doctor's note. HB 515 also directs the Texas Education Agency to create an annual report about the policy's effectiveness. A parent who needs to reach their child during the day can call their school's front office, Troxclair said, adding that for parents who are concerned about not being able to communicate with their children during emergencies, her recommendation would be to have students listen to teachers and law enforcement officers during such incidents, she said. 'In the case of an emergency, you want kids listening to instructions,' Troxclair said. 'We've seen situations in the past where we've seen those things hampered by kids being on their phones.' Students have turned to their phones to communicate with parents and emergency responders in school emergencies. During the May 24, 2022, mass shooting at Uvalde's Robb Elementary School, children called 911 multiple times from inside their classroom as they waited 77 minutes for law enforcement officers to confront the shooter. Two teachers and 19 children were killed in the shooting. But the Uvalde school shooting is unique because of multiple systemic failures, Troxclair said. There are other things that the Legislature has and should do to protect students in schools, such as requiring secure infrastructure to protect student safety, she said. 'Failure': DOJ's scathing Uvalde school shooting report criticizes law enforcement response Troxclair told the American-Statesman that she hopes to allocate money from the state's school safety funding to cover any costs districts might incur as a result of her proposed cellphone ban, she said. Multiple Texas school districts have already taken up similar bans on their own. Lake Travis enacted a cellphone ban at the middle and elementary level this year, and its School Health Advisory Committee at a meeting last month noted that members would like to discuss a possible ban at the high school. Eight states have bans or restrictions on cellphone use in schools either in effect or slated to go into effect within the next 18 months, including California, Florida, Indiana and Virginia, according to KFF, formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation, a San Francisco-based health policy research nonprofit. Another eight states issued guidance or policy recommendations from state-level education departments recommending or piloting programs with the goal of restricting cellphone use, KFF reported. Texas isn't alone in its proposed legislation this session. Fourteen other states have introduced similar legislation to Troxclair's HB 515, according to KFF's analysis. An October Pew Research Center poll found that while 68% of surveyed adults support a ban on cellphones during class, only 36% support a ban during the entire school day. The data don't vary much whether or not an adult is a parent of a K-12 child, but it varies drastically by age groups. Only 45% of adults 18-29 years old support a ban on cellphones in class, compared with 80% of adults who are 50 or older, according to the data. Only 18% of 18- to 29-year-olds support a ban during the entire school day, compared with 44% of people 50 or older. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Legislature: House bill would ban student cellphones in schools
