HELENA — In a letter to parents on Friday, Helena Public Schools announced it had cut the annual winter elementary performances for students.

Rex Weltz, superintendent of Helena Public Schools, said, "The message is that the school funding mechanism is not working. We have great programs in our district and if we could afford them we would continue to do that."

The district cited staffing as the primary reason. The district had to reduce positions after voters rejected a slate of operating levies in the spring.

One of those cuts meant reducing the number of elementary music and PE teachers from eight each to three. That means the three music teachers are splitting their time between various schools and have less time to work with each class. .

"We have carved nearly six million dollars out of our general fund over the last two years," Weltz said. "Consequently last year we brought a stake holder committee together from the community, teachers, staff here in the school district and really prioritize that if in the event we needed to further our reductions what would that look like."

Although the schools will not be hosting elementary winter programs this year, Helena Public Schools are exploring other future parent and student engagement activities.

Superintendent Weltz emphasized that there was a possibility that music programs could have been cut completely.

"There is always an opportunity or an option of things looking different than they do today based on what our revenues look like. Inflationary increases are hitting us and the cost of operations are expensive so we are at a point right now where expenses are outweighing our revenue sources so we have to make adjustments," Weltz said.

With the 2025 legislative session just around the corner, educators hope to muster support for improved funding for public schools.