Havre High School gets new interim principal

As Havre High School continues its search for a principal in the wake of Ed Norman’s resignation last month the school has hired Tom Vail to serve as interim-principal.

Havre Public Schools Superintendent Craig Mueller said Vail will be in Havre soon and will begin his job Monday of next week.

Havre High School has been looking to fill the administrative void left by Norman after his resignation in December of 2021 in the wake of a controversy involving a Halloween costume a student wore in October that has been called racially offensive by many students and their parents.

Parents of HHS students allege that the student who wore the costume, which featured head-to-toe black body paint, was allowed to walk around the school for a significant length of time before being confronted by staff and the that the school did not take their children’s complaints seriously in the aftermath of the incident.

In the wake of the controversy and subsequent resignation of Norman, Mueller has 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.

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 would be handled by a committee being put together by his administrative team while the school looks for an interim principal, a position now filled.

School board elections

In addition to finding a permanent principal for HHS, two seats on the Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees are up for election.

The seats held by Theresa Miller and Garrit Ophus are up.

Ophus was appointed last year to take the vacated position of former Trustee Scott Adams who was himself appointed in December of 2020 to the position previously held by Brian Williams.

Williams resigned from the board due to his move away from Havre.

Adams resigned after less than three months on the board, prompting the remaining board members to, on the advice of Havre Public Schools’ legal advisor, immediately begin the search for a replacement.

Ophus was appointed to the position and went on later last year to win the election to fill out the remainder of the term for that seat, the rest of the school year.

The filing deadline for the seats is March 24 and voter registration ends April 4, with late registration beginning the day after. Election Day is May 3.