08/19/2024
“Helena This Week” is reported and written By JoVonne Wagner. Send your Helena news and tips to [email protected].
A week away: Helena This Week reporter JoVonne Wagner will be in Choteau next week, helping out at the newspaper there as part of Montana Free Press’ reporter residency program. With that, Helena This Week won’t publish on Aug. 26 but will return to its regular schedule on Sept. 2.
The Helena Public School District has identified strategies to improve student recruitment and retention, aiming to combat declining enrollment and related budget issues.
During a school board meeting last week, former board member and educator Julie Mitchell presented findings of a year-long study inquiring how many Helena-based students were leaving the school district and why.
To help offset declining enrollment numbers, she recommended the district prioritize the recruitment of homeschoolers and kindergarten-aged students.
Mitchell’s findings showed that 40 Helena-based students requested to leave the school district for the first time in 2022 and 2023. About half were kindergarten-aged students.
A law passed during the 2023 Legislature allows parents to enroll their children in districts other than where they live, adding a complicated layer to school district budgets across the state.
According to school officials, about 330 students within the district will attend a school outside the district during the upcoming school year. Nearly two-thirds of those will attend school in East Helena.
Alternatively, the Helena schools will gain 95 out-of-district students from surrounding areas this year, including 56 from Clancy and 22 from East Helena.
While figuring the exact cost of students coming and going from the district is a bit of a moving target, school officials reported, for example, that the district’s revenue decreased by about $123,000 during the 23-24 school year because East Helena High School now accepts students. Prior to establishing a high school in 2020, East Helena School District only offered classes for students in K-8 grades.
Public Notice
City officials are asking the public for input on potential changes to downtown parking fees. City staff have proposed adding a parking zone that would charge $1 per hour while also removing the entry and exit arms from the Sixth Avenue and Getchell parking garages and replacing them with kiosks. Public feedback will be discussed with the city’s parking committee before any changes go before the commission. Visit the city’s public engagement website for additional details on changes and current fees.
5 Things to Know in Helena
Food share grant: The Helena Food Share was awarded a $500,000 grant for its new building, bringing the nonprofit to 97% of its fundraising goal of $12 million. The grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust will help the program complete the construction of the Community Food Resources Center, which is set to open by mid-October and will offer a variety of services in addition to providing food to the Helena area.
The nearly complete Community Food Resource Center at the corner of Boulder and Montana avenues is set to open in mid-October. Credit: Patty White / Helena Food Share
Bryant goes solar: Bryant Elementary installed a 62.08-kilowatt solar panel system during the summer, joining Jim Darcy and Central elementary schools in utilizing the sun’s energy. According to the school district, the three schools combined will save about $400,000 in energy costs over the next 30 years. Funding for the new panels came from a NorthWestern Energy grant, along with funds raised by the Helena Sun Run.
Back-to-school resource fair: Family Promise of Greater Helena, 311 Power St., will hold its inaugural back-to-school resource fair on Wednesday, Aug. 21, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. PureView Health Center will provide students with school immunizations, and kids will also have a chance to win certificates for free haircuts.
Last Alive at Five: The Lewis and Clark Brewing Co., 1517 Dodge Ave., will host the summer’s last Alive at Five concert on Wednesday, Aug. 21. Gilda House, an indie-pop band from Billings, marks the season’s 10th band to perform and will take the stage of the brewery’s tap room at 5 p.m.
Waterski mania: The 2024 U.S. Barefoot National Waterski Championship will be in Helena from Aug. 21 to Aug. 25. The event will be at a private lake a few miles north of Helena at 4060 Buoy Blvd. Competition begins on Thursday, Aug. 22, at 8 a.m. For more information about the waterski schedule, visit the competition’s website.
3 Questions For
The Helena City Commission agreed to join the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority earlier this month as a member of its municipal partners program. The rail authority is leading the effort to add a passenger rail route connecting Seattle to Chicago and passing through some Montana cities, including Helena. City Commissioner Emily Dean spoke with MTFP about the commission’s decision to join the rail authority. Her comments have been edited for length and clarity.
MTFP: What benefits does the commission see in Helena joining the BSPRA?
Dean: As a commission, the discussion has surrounded the economic impacts. The economic impacts of connecting Helena residents and Montanans to jobs, health care and educational opportunities would be significant. The other piece of it is that in Montana, we spend so much of our time on the road for all sorts of reasons, whether it’s work, fun, medical appointments, football games or basketball games. An Amtrak passenger rail through Helena would create more opportunities for our residents to access safe, reliable and sustainable modes of transportation. So adding another option for our residents would be a benefit and something I think that we should participate in.
MTFP: What has the public response been like?
Dean: First and foremost, the overwhelming majority of comments that we got from constituents were supportive [of] Helena’s participation and advocating for restoring passage rail through Amtrak service. A piece that I don’t want to be lost is that at the national level, our federal government has prioritized investments in expanding and developing world-class passenger rail. We do not want rural America, including Montana, to be left behind.
Restoring Amtrak, rail travel would provide this year-round safe, affordable transportation option for Helena residents and tourists alike. We want to be at the table as part of that conversation.
MTFP: What do you say to those who have concerns about how the rail would be funded?
Dean: I want to ensure that the voice of our constituents is part of the conversation in the renewal of Amtrak service through our communities. I think that it’s important to remember the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority is the organizing entity, or the vehicle, that was created to investigate, analyze and seek funding to develop this long-distance passenger rail service.
The project is designed to be [an] Amtrak service delivered by federal funding, not local funds. It’s important to remember that the question of mill levy funding must be submitted to a vote of the people in each county that is a member and any member county can leave the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority at any time. With that, this truly is like an organizing vehicle and our participation is not in the interest of utilizing local taxes to fund something like this, but accessing the federal dollars that will bring Amtrak back.
Helena History
