Letter to the Editor - I want to keep our school district strong

Editor,

I am Kevin Johnson, a candidate for Havre Public Schools board of trustees. I am a lifelong Havre resident and graduated from HHS as well as NMC (now MSU-N) with an AAS in Automotive and a BS in Vocational-Technical-Education. I am a strong supporter of vocational and agriculture related programs. I retired from MSU-N after 35 years of teaching in the Auto/Diesel Program.

During the spring of 2022, I became aware there were growing concerns regarding the four-day school calendar committee proposal. Even though 73.9% of the 563 who participated in the survey supported the change it was voted down. After that vote, there was obvious frustration at all staff levels in the HPS system. The impact of this resulted in a number of teachers resigning or retiring earlier than planned. While not all those who left did so because of the calendar decision, it was the highest turnover of teachers in recent years.

Due to the shortage of teachers, paraprofessionals, and substitute teachers a burden was put on the current teachers, staff and principals. At the April 11th, 2023, school board meeting, teachers and staff addressed the board as to how they were handling their duties under the current circumstances. In a certain building if a teacher was missing and no sub was available, the class was split up and taken to other classes. According to the building principal, this happened 17 times as of the date of the meeting. Teachers usually have one prep period during the day and in many cases due to lack of substitutes they cover a class during that time. I commend the teachers, staff and principals who deal with this daily, as they are going above and beyond to ensure the best education for students. My concern is; this spring when school ends, how many teachers will leave the district because of burnout?

Currently, the school board is reviewing calendars for next year as reported in the April 12th, Havre Daily News. Student success requires good teachers and support for them to be successful. I would be honored to serve as a Trustee on the Havre School Board to continue HPS Tradition of Excellence.

Kevin Johnson

Havre