For residents in the Somers Lakeside School District, tax season isn’t over.
Thanks to a district-level data entry error, the district approved a mill levy reduction it couldn’t afford in August. The reduction aimed to lower taxes by 5%. Instead, the error caused a much larger property tax reduction of around 25%. Opting not to collect the tax revenue resulted in a shortfall of funding, which, per a press release, “impacts essential school operations.”
The district is returning to taxpayers to collect the funds through a special tax assessment, which it has planned for February of 2026, pending board approval. At a Dec. 15 board meeting set for 6 p.m. in the Somers Middle School Commons, the district will vote on three budget amendments to remedy the mistake. The board will also answer questions from members of the public about the error.
The district will have to collect an additional $630,460.15 to make up the shortfall. For a home with a value of $300,000, the estimated correction will cost $36.59.
“The Board and district leadership sincerely apologize for this mistake and for any confusion or inconvenience it may have caused,” the district’s release stated. “We are reviewing and strengthening internal processes and checks and balances at all levels to ensure this does not happen again.”
Alex Ator, the district’s superintendent, said the first level where the error happened was at the district level. As a new superintendent — Ator started in his role helming the district earlier this year — there was a learning curve. And with turnover in several other district positions, Ator said the internal mechanisms to catch such an error weren’t as strong as they could have been. He is planning to implement more internal deadlines and have more staff eyes on future budgets to prevent mistakes moving forward.
He explained the state’s budget form has several columns. The error happened when the district’s reserves were placed in an unreserved fund balance, rather than in the district’s total reserve funds. It meant the district utilized its reserves rather than maintaining them.
“To keep a school safe and operating, you have to have the money to expect the unexpected,” Ator said.
By not holding those funds in the district’s reserves, there would be no coffers to pull from should the district experience a challenge such as a pipe burst, an example Ator pointed to in light of Edgerton Elementary in Kalispell having a day off for that issue last week.
Correcting the district’s error ahead of county equalization was also important. In the 2025 legislative session, the state passed House Bill 156, which aimed to enhance school funding equalization by replacing individual school district BASE levies with a countywide one instead. Sponsored by Rep. David Bedey, R-Hamilton, the bill aims to more evenly distribute districts’ tax burdens.
“When equalization happens next year, if this isn’t remedied now, we’d have to ask the entire county to help fix it,” Ator said, adding the district had several ethical conversations about that possibility.
Ator encouraged residents with further questions to attend the school board’s Dec. 15 meeting, which will take place in the Somers Middle School Commons.
“The handful of people that have reached out to me have been supportive of the fact that we’ve been transparent, honest, owned the mistake, moved on,” Ator said. “Most people understand this should’ve been in their tax bills to begin with. It wasn’t an extra assessment; it was a planned item that became unplanned. Most people understand that this isn’t new operating monies. It just means they’ll have to pay bills as approved back in August.”
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