Election 2025

Voter Registration

To vote in the Belgrade School District, one must be:

1. At least 18 years old on or before Election Day.
2. Be a registered voter no less than 30 days before the election.
3. Be a U.S. Citizen.
4. Reside in the Belgrade School District.

To register to vote in Montana, you must provide a Montana Driver's License number. If you do not have a Montana Driver's License, you must provide the last four digits of your social security number. If you do not have a Montana Driver's License or a social security number, you must provide an alternative form of identification as outlined on the Montana Secretary of State website (sosmt.gov/elections/).

Voter Registration Form

Please print completed application and related documents and return to:

Gallatin County Election Administrator
311 West Main Rm 210
Bozeman, MT 59715

 

Trustee Candidates

Belgrade School District has 4 open positions on the school board: 3 3-year term positions and 1 1-year term position. The candidates for 2025 are:

1-Year Term
Samantha Baker
Lila Beard
Cali Morrison

3-Year Term
Marie Boster
Walter Derzay
Steve Garvert
JoAnne Nordhagen

 

 

Belgrade School District is asking voters to consider mill levies for our GENERAL OPERATING FUND. This includes: teacher/staff salaries, classroom supplies, curriculum and programs, and school/building maintenance.

What we're asking:

$100,000 for the Elementary District
$65,000 for the High School District
Total anticipated tax impact: 

• $2.07 per year/$100,000--this is $0.17 per month
• $6.20 per year/$300,000--this is $0.52 per month
• $12.40 per year/$600,000--this is $1.03 per month

For more information, contact:
Dede Semerad, Superintendent       406-924-2026       dsemerad@bsd44.org
Carrie Fisher, Finance Director       406-924-2031        cfisher@bsd44.org
 

How do we get money in the general fund?
The General Operating Fund is paid for by both the state of Montana and local taxpayers. Here’s how the funding works: 80% from the State: The largest portion of the General Operating Fund comes from the state. The state allocates money to school districts based on a formula that takes into account the number of students and other factors. 20% from Local Mill Levies: The remaining 20% of the funding comes from local mill levies. These are taxes voted on by the people in the community. The mill levy is a way for residents to contribute more money to their local schools, allowing the district to have extra resources for things like salaries, new technology, better facilities, or additional programs.

How does the District plan on using these funds?
High quality education requires excellent teachers and staff. To attract and retain the best team, we need to increase salaries to stay competitive in the local market. Currently, our district is below neighboring districts in wages. These levies are part of a larger financial plan of the district, including anticipated STARS act funding, to ensure we're not only providing raises for our teachers and staff, but keeping up with increases in expenses such as utilities, insurance, and maintenance.

Does Belgrade receive federal funds for the General Operating Fund?
No, the general operating fund is composed of state and local dollars. Federal funds provide additional funding to support programs like Title 1 and Special Education.

Why are there two levies on the ballot?
Belgrade School District is divided into an Elementary (K-8) and High School (9-12) district. While the boundaries are similar, the High School District is slightly larger and encompasses more people/students. These are separate line items on the ballot and voters are able to vote on each one independently. Montana law does not allow a school district to combine the Elementary and High School levy requests into one cumulative amount. For those only in the high school district, the only levy on your ballot will be the high school levy.

How does the funding the Governor approved affect the district?
House Bill 15 allocates $52 million to the state budget for K-12 public schools. This funding offsets inflation increases associated with the 80% of the school budget funded by the state of Montana. This bill has no overall impact on the levy request.
 

INFORMATION ABOUT THE TAX CALCULATOR

The tax calculator is based on ESTIMATES of how the passage of the elementary and high school levies could impact individual property taxes. 

1. The District's overall taxable value will likely change, impacting the total number of mills the District would need to assess for the levies. The District will receive the new taxable value for the District the first Monday in August. This is determined and issued by the Department of Revenue.

This tax calculator is not intended to provide the actual dollar amounts for increases, but is a tool and starting point to estimate the financial impact based on information available at this time.  

HOW TO USE THE TAX CALCULATOR

1. Locate your most recent tax bill from Gallatin County Treasurer's Office
   1. Paper Copy- mailed to you
   2. Online using Gallatin County Treasurer's office iTax website
      1. Only enter one field into the search form (ex: Last Name)
2. On your bill, locate the taxable value (see red arrows on photo)
3. Enter your taxable value into the Tax Calculator