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BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — The Butte School District is worried after a clerical error caused a tax measure to be left out of election notifications posted for voters.
State law requires the district to post notices and take out advertisements notifying the public about ballot measures more than 10 days prior to the election, but district officials say they forgot to include an $88,000 elementary levy in an advertisement placed in The Montana Standard.
During the election Tuesday, Butte residents will vote on several public school issues, including a $45,000 high school mill levy, four vacancies on the district's board of trustees and the elementary school levy.
Dennis Clague, the district's business manager, said the mistake could put the elementary school levy in jeopardy. A registered voter could challenge the election, Clague said.
"It would have to go before a judge," Clague said.
He said any challenge would not affect the outcome of the other two ballot issues.
Clague said he failed to see the omission while proofreading the ad among a handful of other public notices. He said once the mistake was discovered, his office issued a public statement.
"I think once we were notified we took all of the actions that we could," Clague said.
Money from the elementary levy would go toward a 2 percent wage increase the teacher's union negotiated last summer and to the maintenance of elementary schools, the Montana Standard reported (http://tinyurl.com/jjpc963 ).
Superintendent Judy Jonart said the money is critical to continuing programs in the district for schools.
If the measure is challenged and invalidated by a judge, Clague said the elementary schools will have to revise their budgets.
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Information from: The Montana Standard, http://www.mtstandard.com
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