Superintendent discusses Havre schools' future

The head of the Havre Public Schools said the schools have been dwindling in size for years, and the task of recruiting and keeping school staff is not easy anywhere on the Hi-Line.

Over the course of last year, the Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees spent time with the Montana School Board Association and as a result decided to focus on three main areas intended to keep Havre schools strong.

Andy Carlson, superintendent of Havre Public Schools and the parent of Havre public school students, moved here from the Seattle area to study math at Montana State University-Northern decades ago and never left.

Thursday, he talked about what discussions the board of trustees is having.

Carlson talked infrastructure, staffing and curriculum.

Infrastructure

He started by talking about past infrastructure improvements.

"I think we've done some pretty significant improvements over the past six, seven years. Our work at Highland Park, adding the six classrooms and the cafeteria," he said. "Sunnyside is probably the most visible one because it's right there on Fifth Avenue and people see that all the time as they drive by."

The Sunnyside Intermediate School improvement included upgrading the front entrance, renovating classrooms and adding four classrooms and the gym.

Havre Middle School saw a parking lot upgrade, the addition of a much needed bus lane the primary focus of that, Carlson said.

"I keep going back to that because it was such a concern and safety hazard," he said. "If you were up there 10 years ago and went and saw the drop-off area - it was like a NASCAR staging area. It was insane. Crazy - that's the best word I can use."

That upgrade was paid for by a bond.

Carlson said the trustees are considering two specific areas for future improvements.

"Lincoln-McKinley is the area we need to address on our elementary side," he said. "Our rooms there need a facelift, our playground is an area of concern - we don't have any grass in that area."

Other areas the trustees are hoping to address at Lincoln-McKinley Primary School are upgrading technology and replacing the wiring in the building.

If the wiring looks anything like it did at Sunnyside after the walls were peeled back - Carlson said he sees no reason why that would not be the case - it's probably safe to assume that things are not up to date.

"I'm not an electrician, but I can tell you this: When we removed stuff (from Sunnyside) and we looked at what was behind the walls, it's not up to code. When I can look at wiring and say, 'That's not up to code,' that's not up to code," he said, smiling.

The ventilation system at Havre High School is another infrastructure concern.

"The quality of air in the high school needs to be addressed," Carlson said.

The problem with the building, he said, is that a secondary roof was put on the school without upgrading the ventilation system.

"There's nothing to cycle, there's nothing to move the air. So if you don't have air moving, over time, I don't know what all happens, but stuff grows," he said.

The trustees don't want to get comfortable waiting, Carlson added.

"We don't want to put ourselves in a spot, 10 years from now, where they're saying, 'You gotta do it today.' And there's some reality in that," he said. "I think asbestos is one of those pieces we can look to. There was a time nobody said anything about it. Now, if we find asbestos floating around, you're not going in that building."

       Carlson said that every year the upgrade is postponed, it could cost more money in the long run.

While the high school is in good shape, Carlson said it's the things that can't be seen - plumbing and electrical elements - that need work.

"We'd like to do something in our science rooms, as far as upgrading them, updating the lab areas," he said.

As for the plumbing, Carlson said, the maintenance people do a nice job of upkeep, but there's only so much they can do.

"You have that many people using restrooms for 50-plus years ... our restrooms at Havre High - they're gross," he said.

Staffing

For as long as he's been superintendent, Carlson said, it's never been easy to bring in good, qualified staff to the district.

"It's difficult to draw people to this region, unless they typically have some kind of family ties, or some experience with rural areas," he said. "So we're looking at some other ways to do business."

One of the ideas being bounced around is opening a day care for school district employees.

Carlson speaks from experience.

"Both my wife and I worked," he said. "We didn't have any relatives in the town. When you have responsibilities to be somewhere, and you want to do a good job parenting, it's hard to coordinate that day care piece."

He said the school board is working on putting in an application to run a day care that would be for employees only and would coincide with the school schedule.

"We have hired someone to help with the application to do it, the same person hired to run the day care," he said.

One of the requirements, he said, is that the day care must be self-sustaining - "We're not going to take from any other sources."

Carlson said it is important that the potential school district day care does not interfere with the local day care businesses.

"If we end up running a day care, and it shuts down some of the existing ones, that's no good. We don't want to be part of the problem. And we're not looking to get into the preschool business," he said. "We're not looking at making money, either, off of folks, but then when you operate that way, what you don't want to do is make it so inviting - we don't want to lose day care in this town. We want to be another part of it - if it works."

Housing is another element the trustees are looking into because, along with day care, it's a big problem when people are thinking about moving here, he said.

Carlson said Assistant Superintendent Craig Mueller has sent letters to the realtors and is working with the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce to get ideas of what housing is available.

"When someone comes and interviews, we're able to say, 'OK, these are some of the open properties, here's who you might contact, here's what housing usually is," Carlson said.

The trustees are also considering the notion of the school district buying properties that can house incoming district employees.

"They're not necessarily looking at getting into the landlord business, but it's difficult, especially with our specialists - areas like speech, occupational therapy, and things like that," he said.

It is difficult for the district to compete with other groups and provide a package that's attractive, and that's what the trustees are trying to combat, Carlson said.

"If we can offer maybe something that another area can't offer, then maybe they choose us," he said. "And in the same sense, they'll want to stay because we have those things."

Carlson said these ideas are not novel or untried.

"There are other schools in our state that are already running day cares - Box Elder is running a day care quite successfully. There's a lot of schools that have employee housing," he said.

As for money, Carlson said, it is a concern. The day care has no chance if it can't be self-sustaining. And as for the housing, available options will be considered and assessed carefully. The ideas are a long way from the proposal table.

Strong, passionate teachers who know how to work with students are crucial to keeping Havre schools strong, he said, and the trustees want to make sure every rock is turned over as they look for the best ways to bring those people in and keep them.

"It comes down to people that wanna put the time in, that take pride in what they do," he said. "I still think Havre is turning out top students."

Curriculum

When it comes to curriculum, the trustees would like to see dual-credit opportunities expanded for high school students, as part of an effort to get students started on their career paths while in high school.

"We want to work with Northern, be partners with Northern, and we've got some good things that are happening up there," Carlson said.

He said the trustees have talked with Northern officials about working together.

"We benefit as a school district to have a college here. Part of that recruitment and retention is finding people to go into education," he said. "And I think Northern can be one of the providers for that."

Carlson said he regrets that Northern's secondary education programs was done away with about five years ago. A previous chancellor put the college's secondary education program in moratorium.

"I think that's a piece of what has contributed to some of the shortage in teachers in the area," he said.

But Northern has started bringing back several of the secondary education programs, he said.

It was Northern that brought Carlson here 25 years ago.

"I'm from the Washington area. Came out here, went to school at Northern - and stayed. They had a secondary math program at the time," he said. "I got snowed in - that's what I tell people."

Carlson used his son to illustrate the benefit of a comprehensive curriculum.

"I enjoy when my kids find something that they enjoy that I never guess they'd enjoy," he said.

In sixth grade, his son took a poetry class.

"I thought, 'Oh, my goodness,'" he said laughing. "But you know what? He loved it. He loved poetry. ... My son was writing poetry. And I'm not saying that he's Yates, or e.e. cummings or anything. ... He's excited about it. And he's telling me about his poetry class, and you're trying to keep a straight face, but at the same time - it's cool. And I would never guess that."

Carlson said there was more he didn't see coming.

"You know what it was this year? It was art class. I took him to school early to work on art. There's no art gene in the Carlson family. In my wife's family there's no art gene, but he loved it. I did math," he said. "And he was fired up about making this little box. Who would've thought? To him, it's a masterpiece."

Carlson said his son's enthusiasm is a testimony to the teachers.

"They're passionate about what they're doing, their content," he said. "That's cool. You don't get that everywhere."

Carlson also talked about what he sees as the bedrock of a strong school system.

"There's something to be said for people from this area. I think you still find some salt of the earth. And I think this is one of the areas where you still find that. I think that's a contributing factor," he said. "If you can ask me why I ended up staying in this area, that's probably why - there's still some salt of the earth here."

Carlson said half-jokingly that people may be getting to the point where they're ready to see him move on.

"You can't do this job and not get to that point," he said.

"But I would never feel differently about this place. If it ended tomorrow, if it ends however many years down the road. ... I have nothing but good things to say about this school district," he said. "My kids are here. I'm not different than any other parent. I care about my children and their education. I care about the people that work with them, and this is a good school district."