HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – The Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees convened for their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday evening and continued discussions on what the calendar for the 2022-23 school year will look like.
The Board unanimously approved, on first reading, consideration of four proposed calendars created by the Calendar Committee.
Two of the proposals are four-day school weeks, while the others are five-day-a-week schedules.
Discussions will continue at the March 21st Special Meeting, scheduled for 6:30 PM at Havre Middle School.
Superintendent Craig Mueller says this year has been incredibly challenging, and hopes that if they do change to a 4-day school week, some concerns could be alleviated, but that it is far from a guarantee.
“At the beginning of the year, I set three goals for our administrative team and shared these goals with our staff at our August welcome back orientation,” said Mueller. “Goal three was to reestablish trust with the community. We have encountered many obstacles this year at the administrative level. The growing number of teaching resignations – 13 at this point – a higher than ever high school dropout rate, and the lowest student attendance that we’ve seen in the District in the last 10 years, compared with other years during five days of regular school. Could a four day week help solve some of those challenges? At this point, we don’t know.”
11 teachers in attendance provided public comment and all voiced their support towards a four-day school week, with reasons such as the potential decrease in staff burnout and improved recruitment and retention.
Two members of the audience spoke out against a four-day school week. They were parent Shanetrice Allen and Boys and Girls of the Hi-Line Club Director Tim Brurud. Allen worried about the impact of the change on the mental health of students, while Brurud expressed concern that Havre does not have the childcare capacity to handle a mass of children not in school Fridays.
A brief summation of the four proposals is below:
- Option 1: All Fridays eliminated. First school day is August 22nd. 157 instruction days, with high school graduation on May 28th. The High School school day would go from 7:57 AM-4 PM, with a 45 minute lunch. 1,122 hours in total, including passing time.
- Option 2: Most Fridays eliminated. First school day is August 17th. 164 instruction days, with high school graduation on May 28th. The High School school day would go from 7:58 AM-3:30 PM, with a 45 minute lunch. 1,122 hours in total, including passing time.
- Option 3: The traditional five-day week, but with an earlier start to the year of August 17th. The fall semester would conclude before the winter break, while High School graduation would be May 21st.
- Option 4: The traditional five-day week, with the first day of school on August 24th and a May 28th High School graduation date.
Mill Levy
On the request of Superintendent Craig Mueller, the Board overwhelmingly approved the running of a mill levy in the upcoming May Trustee election.
The increase is of $39,947, or approximately 1.7 mills, and allows the Elementary to keep budget authority by supporting their general fund.
Mueller says the annual increase in taxes for a $200,000 homeowner would be $4.59.
According to the proposed ballot language, “the durational limit of the levy is permanent once approved by the voters, assuming the district levies that amount at least once in the next five years.”
Other action taken:
- Approval of a resolution for permissive levies. Mueller says this request is in line with Board policy. The annual cost for a $200,000 homeowner is $6.91 for the Elementary District and $4.59 for the High School District
- Unanimous approval of the unanimous consent agenda
- Unanimous approval of several new and revised policies in the 1000 and 2000 series on second reading
- Unanimous approval of revisions to policy 1135 on School Board Advocacy. All references to the National School Boards Association have been removed
- Unanimous approval of revisions to policy 1210 on Qualifications, Terms and Duties of Board Officers
- Unanimous approval of policy 2334 on Release Time or Current Instruction. It includes a declaration stating that on written request of a parent or guardian, a student can be released during the school day for religious instruction, and it will not impact a student’s attendance
- Unanimous approval of placing $20,000 in reserve from general fund dollars for the reimbursement of education-related expenses to teachers who will be involved in an MSU program offering secondary mathematics endorsement to those interested.
- Middle School Principal Dustin Kraske provided an area report
This post has been updated to reflect the changed date for the upcoming Special Meeting. It will now be on Monday, March 21st, not Tuesday, March 22nd.
