Havre school board looks at putting levy on the ballot

Members of the Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees discussed whether or not to put a new levy on the ballot for their elementary district as well as new health policies at their monthly meeting Tuesday evening.

During the meeting the board heard a presentation by Havre Public School Assistant Superintendent Brad Moore about levies and school budgets where he said the High School cannot put a levy on the ballot this year, but due to a recent legislative change the elementary district can ask for a new levy.

Moore said salaries and benefits make up 85 percent of their general budget expenses and those are likely to go up this coming year so having a new levy would be helpful.

Trustee Christin Hileman asked if they could afford those increases without the levy.

"Well, we always have to," Moore said in response.

He said they won't know how much their insurance is going to increase until at least next week, and there may well be negotiations depending on how much in increases, so it's hard to give an exact number, but an increase in cost is very likely and it will be much harder to cover without a levy.

Hileman said she is concerned about putting such a thing on the ballot, for fear that it would damage trust with the community as taxpayers will also be looking at higher property taxes and inflation.

"When the time comes that we are in dire straits and we need them to vote in a mill levy, they may not because we've asked, year after year after year," she said.

She said while she wants more funding for public schools she thinks they should only ask for this levy if they absolutely need it.

The board voted to table the matter until their special meeting Mar. 26 so they may have a better idea of where their insurance costs will be.

Moore also mentioned that a lot of schools are now holding separate school safety levies, and while it's too late to put that on the upcoming ballot, it may be something for the board to look at for future years if they are inclined.

Also at the meeting the board approved new policies laying out procedures for how school staff can respond to student health issues, specifically how to handle a potential opioid overdose and how to treat a student found to have head lice.

Havre Public School District Nurse Jeri Zorn said she suggested these policies to give her and nursing staff as well as teachers clarity on dealing with these issues.

Zorn said she's been working at the district for over a decade and has never seen an overdose, and the school doesn't stock Narcan or Epinephrine but it would be a good idea to have some on hand just in case, and to have a policy in place beforehand.

She also suggested the school adopt policies outlining how to handle a student found to have head lice, which she said is something she already deals with, but should be laid out in policy.

She said head lice don't carry diseases and are a nuisance rather than a health hazard so the CDC doesn't recommend students automatically be sent home if they have head lice, unless the case is especially bad, and she agrees with that approach.

Zorn said there aren't a lot of students for whom this is a chronic issue but often the parents of those students don't care to treat that problem and, because it's not one she is equipped to treat herself, if a student with chronic head lice were required to be sent home they likely wouldn't be allowed to come back.

"I would have multiple students that would never receive an education if we sent them home," she said.

She said if a case of head lice progresses far enough the lice may start seeking new hosts, and at that point she would send a student home to avoid potential spread, but that's very rare.

She said the few students for whom this is a chronic problem come to her to have the lice manually removed every two or so weeks so cases rarely get that bad.

The trustees unanimously approved these new policies which are similar to the ones used in other area schools.

The board also unanimously approved a new library curriculum and a contract to administer their COPS grant, which will pay for security system improvements throughout the district.

District Superintendent Brian Gum also gave his monthly report to the board including enrollment numbers, which went down by 11 students in the past month, but is still up 29 from this month last year.

Gum said their yearly trends for enrollment are typical of previous years.

He also said that building administrators are evaluating the results of the district's recent comprehensive needs assessment survey, and what the results of the survey indicate about the strengths and weaknesses of their individual buildings, and what they can do to address any deficiencies.

He said they will bring a report on their evaluation to the board around the beginning of summer break.

The board also heard from Havre High School Student Body President Trayden Riley, who said that the student council will be moving forward on its plans for a memorial bench for former district superintendent Craig Mueller, who died unexpectedly in late 2022.

Riley also said they are working on getting new audio equipment for Blue Pony Stadium and are planning a mural in the Havre High School Gymnasium, though the latter project is still very early on in development.

During the board meeting there was also a presentation of this month's Pony Pride Award, to Havre High School Head Cook Shawna Hanson, presented by last month's recipient, Havre High School Head Custodian Wade Harrison.

Harrison said Hanson is an incredibly hard worker who makes sure that every student is properly fed and healthy and he's glad to present her this award for her work.