BELGRADE ELEMENTARY BOND 2025
What is Included in the Bond?
MASTER PLAN FOR THE FUTURE
The new elementary school is the first step in a 60-acre master site plan designed to serve Belgrade’s long-term growth. The site is planned in three phases: Phase I is the elementary school now underway, Phase II reserves space for a future middle school, and Phase III sets aside land for a high school and outdoor fields. Locating the elementary school along Frank Road provides immediate access and the most cost-effective connections for water, sewer, and utilities, while also aligning with future infrastructure extensions such as Weaver Lane. This phased approach not only addresses today’s urgent need for a fourth elementary school, but also ensures the District has a clear roadmap for adding schools in the decades ahead, creating a full K–12 campus that can grow with the community.
NEW BELGRADE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
The new Belgrade Elementary School is planned as a K–5 facility designed to grow with the community, ultimately serving up to 700 students in three phases. Phase 1 includes a 35,000-square-foot building for about 250 students with a two-story academic wing, a library, outdoor learning/play areas, and a multipurpose room with stage. To lower costs to taxpayers, this multipurpose space doubles as the lunchroom and PE area while also hosting events.
As part of this bond, voters have the option to add a full-size gymnasium now. A gym would separate PE from lunch, improve daily schedules, and provide space for concerts, sports, and community events. If not built now, the gym is planned as part of a future phase when enrollment grows.
Belgrade’s 4th Elementary School Bond addresses the essential need: moving 5th grade out of the Middle School, which is among the largest in Montana with nearly 1,000 students. Returning 5th graders to an elementary setting supports their social, emotional, and academic success while right-sizing the Middle School. Voters already authorized this project in 2019, but rising costs require additional funding. Thanks to recent legislative changes, the cost to taxpayers will remain about the same as the 2019 bond, and acting now avoids even greater increases. This bond delivers on a promise while ensuring students learn in age-appropriate, future-ready spaces.
FULL GYM ADDITION
-
Enhances school programs with a dedicated PE space.
-
Provides space for community events and activities.
-
Long-term investment for students and Belgrade families.
-
Reduces scheduling challenges of a shared cafeteria/gym space.
Adding a gymnasium introduces additional cost because it is beyond the core educational spaces required for the new school. While Phase 1 includes a multipurpose space that doubles as a cafeteria and performance area, a full gym requires a much larger footprint, higher structural capacity, specialized flooring, bleachers, and equipment to meet athletic and community use standards. It also increases mechanical, electrical, and site development needs. These investments make the gym a long-term community asset—supporting PE classes, athletics, and public events—but they add significantly to the overall project cost, which is why the gym is presented as a separate, optional measure for voters.
