Gatch urges school board to renew as football coach

Havre High School Football Coach Ryan Gatch protested at a monthly meeting of the Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees Tuesday the lack of renewal on his caoching contract.

At the meeting, Havre Superintendent Craig Mueller also talked about how the high school will fill the void of former Havre High School Principal Ed Norman and what to do in the wake of the controversy that preceded his resignation.

HPS offers coaches one-year contracts for their positions and they must be renewed each year for the coach to continue.

Before Gatch spoke a Havre High student attempted to provide comment on why she thought Gatch should remain as coach, but Board Chair Curtis Smeby said district policy doesn't allow personnel matters to be discussed in an open meeting.

Mueller said if this matter was on the agenda and the board was making a decision on the matter, witnesses could be called for or against the person in question, but because the board was not discussing the matter it was not up for discussion directly.

Gatch himself spoke at the meeting during the public comment section, a presentation about which Smeby originally objected to on the same grounds, but after Gatch insisted that he is only going to speak about the program's merits he was allowed to speak.

Gatch said he inherited a program with 44 student athletes with 26 who earned school letters, and they've since added 19 players and raised the number lettering to 41.

He also said the average GPA of the students jumped more than a point in his time there and has stayed high since.

"We're getting smarter, we're getting better organized," he said.

He said every parent in the program has his phone number and the program has done a great deal of good, touting the program's diversity, but framing the hiring of minority staff members as a novelty.

"We help men, women ... we have an over-40 percent minority ratio on our football team, jeez we even hire minorities on our staff," Gatch said.

Despite talking mostly about the program, Gatch did say he wants the board's policy on discussing personnel matters changed because all the students who came to speak on his behalf will never have their voices heard because of it.

He also said the school should revise its policy of offering one-year contracts to coaches and complained that there should be a way to refute decisions like this.

In the wake of the administrations decision, he said, he met with Havre High School Assistant Principal and Activities Director Kevin Nettleton, Havre Assistant Superintendent Brad Moore, Mueller, and tried to have a meeting with Smeby as well.

He also criticized the fact that the decision to not renew his contract was made by an administrator who now no longer works at the institution, one that he said has no contact with his program, an administrator who's only been at the district for a few months.

Havre High School policy is for the activities director to review coaches and make the recommendation on whether to offer them another contract.

Gatch's wife, Maura, made criticisms similar to his.

"You have an admin who no longer works for the institution, you have an admin who has been here for four months and you have an admin who doesn't have any day-to-day activities making a decision that will never come in front of you, and if that's not cause for pause I'm unsure of what is," she said.

After comments on that subject ceased, trustee Jacob Ingram said because Gatch is no longer the coach this matter shouldn't be considered a personnel issue and members of the audience should have an opportunity to speak, but Smeby said Gatch is still employed by the district as a PE teacher, a position that is not being discussed.

Dealing with no high school principal

Another big topic of discussion at the meeting was how the school district is addressing the administrative void left by former Havre High Principal Ed Norman, who resigned in the wake of a controversy regarding a racially offensive Halloween costume.

The school's handling of the incident, in which a white student showed up to school in black body paint as part of a Halloween costume, has been widely criticized by some members of the community who say the school did not act quickly enough to resolve the issue and did not take the complaints of their children seriously in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

Mueller said the district is looking to partner with EmpowerMT a non-profit organization seeking to improve school environments for students and staff, one that they worked with in 2010.

He said in speaking with them he's impressed by the comprehensive nature of their programs which can train administrators, staff, teachers and even students should the board deem it necessary.

He said their mission, "To create a more just and inclusive society by developing youth and adult leaders who work to end mistreatment and correct systemic inequalities, strengthening communities across Montana," is an admirable one, and it has become clear since early November that the schools needs to make improvements.

Mueller said he doesn't want to just bring in a guest speaker to talk about the issue and leave it at that, but be more comprehensive and follow-up to make sure progress is actually being made, and this partnership will do that.

On the logistical side of things, he said administration at the high school will be handled by a committee being put together by his administrative team while the school looks for an interim principal, a job listing he said will be posted today, and beyond that, a permanent principal.

He said building administrators have been setting up the necessary processes to keep teacher evaluation on track and make sure they are being handled by the most knowledgable people possible.

He said this is an area in which the team is working particularly hard because they understand the importance of these evaluations.

Mueller said the his team is also making sure that passing times and the lunch periods are monitored in the meantime as well.

Moore said finding someone to fill the role of principal may be difficult, given the state of hiring U.S. education at the moment.

Board approves

policy changes

Trustees also passed a number of revised policy changes recommended by Mueller during the meeting, though one ended up being amended at the suggestion of Ingram.

Ingram said Policy 3417, regarding how the school handles communicable disease and the recommendations of the scientific community, could use more clarity.

Specifically he suggested changing a passage which reads "The district will rely on the advice of the public health and medical communities in assessing the risk of various communicable diseases" to "The district shall take into consideration advice from the public health and medical communities in assessing the risk of various communicable diseases."

He also said the line stipulating that the district manage common communicable diseases in accordance with Montana Department of Health and Human Services recommendations, be changed to include the line "unless otherwise addressed in another policy directly related to a specific communicable disease."

After some discussion over whether the change was necessary, some trustees saying the changes don't fundamentally alter what the policy does, the revisions were voted for unanimously.

The board also unanimously voted to approve out-of-state travel for the Havre High A Capella Choir to attend the All-Northwest Conference in Spokane, Washington, in March.

Mueller said 29 students of the choir were chosen to perform, and it is an honor to participate.

Smeby said this is a great opportunity for students and he's glad they're able to provide it.

Mueller also told the board that the district is moving forward with energy performance contract interviews.

The board has been discussing the possibility of using Elementary and Secondary Education Relief funds to pay for upgrades to the schools' air circulation systems and make improvements to its energy systems.

He said the school has received two proposals and he would like to form a committee to review them early next month including two board members. Trustees Ingram, Tim Scheele and Garrit Ophus volunteered.

Mueller also talked about a holiday celebration fundraiser coming up.

He said the event will be held from 7 p.m. to midnight on New Year's Eve at the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line with tables costing between $1,000 and $1,200, with a big band performance beginning at 9 p.m.

He said a number of businesses have bought tables already and donated them back to the school, and he thanked them for their generosity.

He said they've decided to give these seats to school employees so they can attendee the event free.

The event will raise money for the Havre Public Schools Education foundation and Smeby thanked Foundation Chair Kyle Leeds for all the work he's done putting the event together.