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3/10/2025
“Helena This Week” is reported and written By JoVonne Wagner. Send your Helena news and tips to [email protected].
School officials to recommend a facilities bond for new school buildings
The Helena Public School District kicked off a series of community forums and tours last week as it moves forward with a plan to ask taxpayers to fund the replacement of Helena High School.
The forums are part of the district’s master facilities plan that was created to address its aging buildings and nearly $100 million maintenance backlog.
Helena Superintendent Rex Weltz will make recommendations based on the plan during the Helena School Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, March 11. Among the recommendations, Weltz will advocate for a bond to fund the construction of a new Helena High School and renovations to Capital High School.
The district is hosting several community forums with SMA Architecture and Design, which developed the plan, and school administrators. The first was at Helena High last Tuesday night.
“We’re really concerned, specifically about how we’re going to keep this building operational and what it’s going to take,” Weltz said at the beginning of the forum.
Weltz added that the heating system at Helena High is at risk of failing, and he pondered how the district should best invest its limited resources to address the school’s crumbling infrastructure.
“If we’re going to put money into that system, is it $15 to $16 million? Is that a wise use of our money, or do we need to do something different and put good money into a different building?” Weltz asked.
Tim Meldrum of SMA Architecture and Design added that if the district doesn’t proceed with improvements now it should expect that costs, and taxes, will likely rise with inflation and the building’s continued pressing issues.
“We’re getting to the point where the maintenance or lack of maintenance on these facilities, especially the subject of tonight, which is this building, Helena High School, has become fairly alarming,” Meldrum said. “And it’s getting closer and closer to something that we feel like there’s going to be less and less of a choice.”
While SMA didn’t provide details on an amount the district might ask taxpayers to approve, Meldrum said if voters approved a $100 million bond, roughly $30 million would go toward the district’s deferred maintenance needs. If the school district’s request for a bond doesn’t pass, the costs will nearly triple in a decade, he said.
“I’m not trying to sensationalize anything for right now, but it’s important that people understand what’s coming and we can’t change that,” Meldrum said. “We can’t go back in time. This is what’s coming.”
If the board of trustees approves the recommendation, the bond will be added to a Sept. 9 ballot. If voters approve, the design of the new high school will take 10 to 11 months. Project bidding would begin in July 2026, and construction is estimated to take another two years.
Following the presentation, Helena High School students led tours around the school. The students showed classrooms with mildew, leaking ceiling tiles, crumbling walls, windows that don’t shut and the failing boiler system.
Temperatures ranged dramatically from one hallway to another, and students shared that some teachers had blankets in their classrooms and encouraged students to dress warmly. During the winter months, some school building entrances didn’t close due to snow and gravel accumulation, which students said raised security concerns.
Helenans last passed a bond for the district in 2017 to construct Central, Bryant and Jim Darcy elementary schools.
However, residents last approved a high school bond in 1996 to construct additional classrooms at Capital and Helena High. Voters last year rejected several proposed levies.
During next Tuesday’s school board meeting, Superintendent Weltz is also expected to discuss constructing a new Kessler Elementary, the future of Hawthorne Elementary and plans for the district’s unused facilities.
The board of trustees isn’t expected to take action on potential bonds during the upcoming meeting.
5 Things to Know in Helena
Ming Opera House project: During a city commission meeting last week, the Helena Symphony requested $35,000 to study the renovation of the Ming Opera House and Helena Light and Traction Building. The study would determine the symphony’s fundraising feasibility for the redevelopment of the theatre and building. The total cost estimate for the theatre renovation is about $30 million. The commission will consider the request at a later meeting.
City infraction proposal: Transportation Services Director David Knoepke and city deputy attorney Matthew Petesch proposed to the commission last week a process for how the city handles code violations and enforcement, specifically for ADA compliances. The proposal suggests a courtesy notice be issued after a property owner’s first infraction and then a written notice if the infraction hasn’t been addressed after 24 hours. The city will issue citations 10 days after the written notice with a fine of up to $300 for the first violation and a $500 fine for every infraction thereafter. The city commission did not act on the proposal.
City, county to seek airport board members: City deputy attorney Matthew Petesch informed both city and county commissioners that a Helena Airport Board of Adjustment will need to be formed to take action on variance appeals for the airport-zoned district. Petesch said in a joint city-county meeting last week that the city received two requests from developers interested in pursuing projects within the airport zone. The city commission will advertise to fill two board seats, while the county will need to fill three seats.
How Helena is growing: The League of Women Voters will host Helena, East Helena and Lewis and Clark County planning officials on March 27, at the Lewis and Clark Library, 120 S. Last Chance Gulch, to discuss zoning and land use plans. The event will be from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. with a panel of speakers including Helena community development director Chris Brink, county community development director Greg McNally and East Helena public works director Kevin Orr. The meeting will also be available to stream via Zoom.
HPD Explorer’s Academy: The Helena Police Department is offering a high school program for students interested in law enforcement. The academy will teach students some of the operations and procedures related to police duties in classes held mainly at the police department. Students can apply for the program until Friday, March 14, and must have a GPA of 2.0 and pass a criminal background check. To apply or for more information contact Officer Scott Finnicum at 406-594-6274 or email him at [email protected].
Eye on Helena
Last Wednesday, a small group of local residents rallied outside the gates of the Fort Harrison Military Base to raise awareness and protest the recent call for layoffs of Veteran Affairs employees. While it is unclear how many employees in Montana and Helena have been impacted by the federal-issued mass layoffs, some veterans, spouses and employees expressed their concerns about how staff changes will impact health care and insurance for Montana veterans.
“These are the most dedicated crew of people I’ve ever had the privilege of working with,” a VA employee told MTFP at the rally. “We’ve been understaffed for a while, cause it’s hard to get people to come to rural areas and so you will see people going above and beyond to get the care that needs to be done. But you take away the support services that support clinical care, you’re go
