Havre Public School Board approves calendars, policies

The Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees approved calendars for the coming two school years, as well as resolutions calling for this year's election, at their regular meeting Monday evening, where they also announced this month's Pony Pride Award winner.

During the meeting Havre Public Schools Superintendent Brian Gum presented the 2024-25 and 2025-26 calendars, developed by the district's calendar committee.

Gum said they will be keeping the four-day structure along with optional Support Fridays, which have been very popular so far.

He said despite the popularity of these optional Fridays, which are held a few times a month for students looking to catch up, get ahead, or just generally get some extra help, one of the biggest pieces of feedback they got was that they were sometimes awkwardly placed this school year.

He said the committee spent a lot of time taking suggestions and placing the Support Fridays more strategically in the coming two years.

Gum said the schools have been keeping track of attendance during the Fridays and while it's still early in this semester attendance seems to be staying steady.

He said there have been concerns raised that attendance would taper off in spring and they intend to keep tracking things so they can address that concern if it becomes an issue.

Board Chair Tim Scheele said that while they were approving the calendars for both years, there is still plenty of time to make amendments to the 2025-26 calendar should need arise.

The calendars were approved with the request that the first official day of school be made clear on the versions released to the public to avoid any potential confusion.

The board also approved a number of new and revised policies on first reading, most of which Gum said were required policies.

The policies pertained to a number of issues including clarifying procedures for the use of restraint and seclusion for students in cases where behavior merits it, as well as the need for knowledge of basic first aid and CPR for whoever is overseeing said student, and the procedures for assessing risk to students and staff in such cases.

There was also new language regarding, maternity and paternity leave for employees, maintenance of student records, bus safety drill requirements and lodging standards for students traveling for sporting events.

The policies were approved on first reading.

The board also approved resolutions calling for an election to fill three board seats that will be up for election this year, seats currently held by Trustees Jacob Ingram, Brittnee' Loch and Lorraine Larson.

HPS Assistant Superintendent Brad Moore also said there was the possibility of putting an elementary levee on this year's ballot, but the numbers for what they can ask for are still being worked on and would be presented for consideration at a later meeting.

Moore also talked about the district's continued use of the Montana Advanced Opportunities grant program, which covers the extra costs of dual and concurrent credit programs often taken on by parents.

He said when students take dual and concurrent credit courses there are often extra costs for things like supplies and travel that can be a burden to parents, and this program covers much of those costs.

He said that, under this program, 174 Havre High School students have earned 705 credits at Montana State University-Northern alone, at no extra cost to parents.

Moore said credit for these incredible numbers needs to go to high school leadership and counselors who have been making sure that all students and their parents know about these programs and encouraging them to make use of them.

"The high school has been doing a tremendous job," he said.

Trustee Kevin Johnson said all these new credits being earned at Northern also benefit the college's funding, as well as the students who can earn a substantial amount of credit before leaving high school.

During the meeting, Gum also gave an update on enrollment, which dropped a little in recent months, but is still a bit higher than this time last year.

He said the dip this time of year is normal and this year's pattern of enrollment is similar to the last few years.

He also said the district is continuing to pursue the possibility of getting two new electric buses at a significantly reduced cost, but they won't know if they will get them until April.

Gum said, based on what he's been told, their chances are good and adding these new vehicles to their fleet would be very beneficial.

Board members said that the electric buses the district already uses have been working great, even during the intense cold snap in January.

The meeting also saw the presentation of this month's Pony Pride Award to Havre High School Head Custodian Wade Harrison.

School District Maintenance and Labor Specialist Ryan Joy presented the award on behalf of last month's winner Havre Public Schools Maintenance Specialist Mike Nesslar, who said Harrison works very hard to the betterment of his building and takes pride in his job.

He said he is an incredible person to work with and goes as far as he does for the district no matter the circumstances or time of year because he's doing it for the students.