This story was last updated on September 10, 2025, at 1:25 p.m.
Helena voters appear to have narrowly approved $283 million in bonds by fewer than 400 votes after early results showed the efforts failing.
Lewis and Clark County election officials said midday Wednesday that they had counted all but a handful of votes. A tally the office provided then indicated the Helena School District’s $240 million high school bond was passing by a 361-vote margin and the $43 million elementary school bond was passing by a 382-vote margin. Nearly 22,000 votes were cast.
While the bonds will pay for the renovation of Capital High School and the new versions of Helena High and Kessler Elementary School — impacting about 2,660 students — it will also mean additional taxes on the homes that house Helena’s 32,000 residents.
The results won’t be official until the Lewis and Clark County Elections office completes its review of the count, likely within the next week.
Early results released Tuesday evening had indicated the bond measures were on track for a narrow defeat, although the vote was too close to call. Updated results released just after midnight Wednesday, however, showed that both bonds had passed.
“We are incredibly grateful for the community’s overwhelming support,” Superintendent Rex Weltz said in a statement released Wednesday morning. “This is a testament to the trust our residents have in our schools and their commitment to providing the best possible education for every student.”
In an interview with Montana Free Press later Wednesday, Weltz added that the bonds’ approval is just the beginning.
“ There was never a sense of relief in the fact that this work just is starting, and regardless of the outcome, the work was starting,” Weltz said.
School Board of Trustees Chairperson Jennifer McKee Wednesday praised Helena voters for supporting students but also acknowledged the difficulties of affording to live in Helena and Montana.
“It’s very expensive, and it’s working-class Americans and working-class Montanans [who] are paying for everything,” McKee told MTFP. “And I totally understand why they are feeling exhausted. But even in their exhaustion, a majority of Helena said ‘yes.’”
Voter turnout was high with about 60% of registered voters casting votes in either the school bond election or concurrent primaries for Helena’s City Commission, according to election officials. In comparison, turnout for the Helena school board election held in May was 42%.
With the passage of both bonds, property taxes in Helena will be higher than they would have been otherwise. For example, according to a district analysis, residents with properties valued at $300,000 will pay about an additional $260 in property taxes per year, and properties valued at $600,000 will see a tax increase of about $600 annually.
Despite that hefty price tag — the total request was among the highest ever from a Montana school district — some residents agreed with the urgency in addressing school facilities’ needs.
“I’m a developmental scientist by trade, and I think education is really important, so I supported the school bond so that we can support future generations,” Helena voter Diana Devine told MTFP Tuesday.
Others saw the challenges from both sides of the request.
“I think the bond is gonna be a little bit costly for taxpayers, especially those, the elderly and retired people who are struggling trying to pay taxes, but I think it’s needed,” Q Curtiss said. “I also think the state needs to come up with something else to kind of help out with the school.”
Some said the request was too much money for both property owners and renters. With property tax increases on the horizon, some renters anticipate that their landlords will raise prices to cover the difference.
“I’m trying to get a place, I’m trying to get married and raising the rent is not what I need right now in my time of life,” voter Kevin LaChere said Tuesday. “I’m voting no, and I hope that rent doesn’t go up for me.”
After the final results were announced, some Helenans took to social media to express their support for and disapproval of the bonds.
“As a taxpayer who doesn’t have kids in the system, I’m disappointed,” Jesse Hauer commented under a Helena Public School’s post. “… The trickle down to this is more than what’s going on with the schools. The rest of the community will suffer this burden.”
“Now come up [with] 20, 50, 100 year plans for the building and maintenance so this does not happen again!,” Karen Neumann Latka wrote under a YES for Helena Schools post. “Be a good steward of our hard earned money!”
In June, the Helena School Board of Trustees agreed to put the multimillion-dollar bonds to voters after Superintendent Weltz advocated for funding to address the district’s aging facilities and nearly $120 million in deferred maintenance needs.
According to the district’s facilities master plan, Kessler Elementary, Capital High and Helena High were among the system’s buildings with major facility deficiencies.
Kessler was built in 1936 and had ranked poorly for fire suppression, safety and security and electrical systems.
While Capital High, built in 1965, needs major maintenance, Helena High’s condition is nearing unusable, according to school officials. It has a sinking foundation, failing electrical systems, bug infestations and — most urgently — a failing boiler system.
The high school bond tally available Wednesday was 11,147 “yes” votes and 10,786 “no” votes, a 50.8% to 49.2% margin. The elementary school tally was 10,630 votes to 10,248 votes, a 50.9% to 49.1% margin.
Local city races were also on the ballot, with the mayor and two commission seats up for vote.
The primary election advanced two candidates, Andy Shirtliff and Emily Dean, to the general election for Helena mayor and four candidates, Ben Rigby, Haley McKnight, Shawn White Wolf and incumbent commissioner Melinda Reed, to the general election for two open commission seats.
Shirtliff won the mayoral primary with 48% of the vote, compared to Dean’s 37%. Because the city and school district have different boundaries, not all voters had the chance to participate in both elections.
Eric Dietrich contributed reporting.
Correction: An earlier version of this article, published on Sept. 10, 2025, stated that the school district had previously declared that the bond vote had failed. This was due to a reporter’s misunderstanding of an email from the school district.
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