Several testimonials by Missoula high school students Wednesday spoke to the need for such prevention and substance-abuse programs.
“The fights used to be a couple of girls pushing each other back and forth,” said Jeremy Leibenguth, a senior at Big Sky High School. “Now, it's moved to blood and ambulances involved.”
“I've reached out to people I wouldn't have normally reached out to,” Leibenguth said.
Three long-standing programs that deal with underage drinking, teenage substance abuse and other risky behaviors in Missoula may find themselves in financial trouble come fall when major sources of federal funding are expected to disappear.
Flagship, created in 1995, provides students in Missoula's high schools, three middle schools and two elementary schools with constructive activities between 3 and 6 p.m., while most parents are still at work. The program at each school costs $50,000, said Executive Director Rosie Buzzas.
The programs at Big Sky and Sentinel high schools are in financial jeopardy, she said. A state grant has assured ongoing funding at Hellgate.
Project Success places chemical dependency counselors in the high schools for students to talk about their substance abuse issues without the fear of punishment. The Missoula Forum for Children and Youth is a coalition of prevention and substance-abuse programs created more than a decade ago.
Concerned parents, prevention professionals and teen advocates are asking the community to give back to these programs that for 13 years have helped Missoula's kids.
“Never have we come to the taxpayers to support what we've been doing,” said Peg Shea.
In January, Shea announced her retirement as head of the Montana Meth Project. She stressed that she was only testifying Wednesday as a citizen and mother. “It's about 13 years of building infrastructure. We've figured it out. The work done at that level is so special and so complex to pull off. Now, we need that home-base support.”
The levy increase is two mills, or about $385,000, based on current levy value. That boils down to about $12.22 for a person owning a $200,000 home based on assessed market value.
Should voters approve the increase, any local group whose mission is prevention and fighting substance abuse can apply for a chunk of the money. It's up to the commissioners to distribute the cash.
The Frenchtown School District is trying to mirror Missoula's efforts to combat underage drinking. Should voters give the tax increase a thumbs-up, Superintendent Randy Cline said the school district will likely apply for a portion of it.
No one spoke against placing the levy increase on the ballot Wednesday, and board members gave their unanimous support.
However, Commissioner Larry Anderson voiced several concerns.
First, if Missoula's underage drinking programs are so successful, Anderson questioned why Missoula still has one of the highest teenage binge-drinking rates in the country.
Second, Anderson questioned the scope of the mill levy. Organizations like the Missoula Exchange Club, of which Anderson is a member, address things like child abuse, which is one of the indicators that leads to substance abuse later in life, he said.
Finally, Anderson wanted to know how to hold these organizations accountable for putting taxpayer dollars toward the actual programs, and not toward administrative costs.
“My questions are going to be similar to those asked by the public as you go out to secure votes for this levy,” said Anderson, whose wife is a teacher at Hellgate Elementary School. “I hear both sides of it.”
Flaghship's administrative costs are 7 percent to 12 percent of the total funding, Buzzas said. Also, Flagship employees at each of the schools make about five references a year to child services about potential child-abuse victims, she said.
This is the first levy increase approved by the county for placement on the primary election ballot.
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