School board candidates speak at forum

The Havre Education Association hosted a school board candidate forum at the Havre High School Auditorium Thursday evening, where four candidates running for three local school board seats answered questions on their backgrounds, priorities and stance on Havre's new modified four-day week schedule.

Three candidates, incumbent Jake Ingram, incumbent Lorraine Larson, and Shanetrice Allen are running for two available seats on the Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees, and Kelly Compton is the sole write-in candidate for a seat on the Cottonwood School Board.

Ingram and Larson both touted their backgrounds as board members, saying their experiences have set them up to continue doing good work for the community and learning more about what can be done to improve the district.

Ingram said he has children going to school in the district, and Larson, a former special education teacher at the district, said she has grandchildren going to school there.

Allen said she has children going to the district at every level and she's heavily involved in their education as well as a strong supporter of the district since moving to town in 2019.

She said when her family moved to town they expected to be here only two years, but her children loved the town so much they begged her to stay, and she's been a supporter of the school system ever since.

"They've really blossomed here," she said.

Compton said all three of her children have graduated from Havre High School and she's been a supporter of local public education for a very long time.

She said she is interested in contributing to the Cottonwood School District specifically because she strongly believes in the benefits of smaller schools and classrooms and wants to be part of that district.

Compton said she isn't looking to change a whole lot and wants to focus on maintaining the district's stability, but there are always improvements to be made, especially in the area of training opportunities for students, teachers and administrators.

Allen said one of her focuses is improving her district's acknowledgment of the diverse backgrounds of its students.

She said every school this year celebrated Black history month, something she's been pushing for for some time, and it really seems to have taken off.

As for her other goals, she said she wants to see the district's standardized test scores improve, and to improve the dropout rate at Havre High School.

She said there have been some recent improvements on that front and she wants to acknowledge the work of those who made that happen and give them more support.

Allen said she would also like to see more life skills taught in school, like budgeting, and look into raising the academic requirements for extra curricular activities.

Ingram said the schools have seen recent improvements in a number of academic metrics, but there is plenty more work to do on that front.

Another priority of his is to improve the overall atmosphere and morale at the school which will inevitably draw more teachers to the area which can only improve performance for the students.

He said programs like the Multi-tiered System of Support and the board's Climate Committee have already made some improvements on that front, which he would like to continue, improving the chances of better recruitment.

Larson also talked about school staffing, saying improving recruitment and retention is a big focus of hers.

She said a healthy pool of teachers will improve student outcomes and attendance especially on Support Fridays, which is a big priority for teachers at the district.

"We want our students to be excited by the future," she said.

Part of this effort, Larson said, will be maintaining and updating the district's facilities and improving teacher pay, which will be a big priority.

Ingram also said that teacher pay is a big priority, for practically everyone affiliated with the district.

Larson mirrored this sentiment saying she wants to see state funding of public education improve in general, especially when it comes to the hiring of special education teachers and school counselors.

She also said the district can look at things like creating teacher housing and day care credits.

Allen said she wants to strengthen the relationship between the district and Montana State University-Northern, and provide incentives and assistance to Havre students looking to become teachers.

She said the district and its teachers also need support from the area's parents and guardians, and she thinks she might be able to help build a closer relationship there, one built on their shared goal of improving these childrens' futures.

Compton said communication at her school district is also something she wants to improve.

She said she doesn't see any serious deficiencies in that regard, but there is room for improvement that she thinks she can help fill.

As for teacher pay in Cottonwood, she said, her goal is for the district to become a place where teachers want to be, and that every teacher has the supplies they need to run their classes without having to use their own money.

She said these are talented professionals who do what they do for the best of reasons and they deserve an environment that treats them as such.

"I don't know many teachers who teach for money," she said.

One of the biggest questions of the evening was about the recent implementation of a modified four-day school week at the Havre School District, and while the candidates discussed different aspects of the change, all of them regarded it positively, including those who had expressed skepticism about it in the past.

Larson said she had significant reservations about the change, and there are some challenges to address, the response to it makes it clear that it was a good idea.

She said the schedule, which includes extended class periods and optional Fridays throughout the year, has given teachers and students greater flexibility, and it seems like recent increases in performance are largely due to the change.

She said teacher attendance has improved and the demand for substitutes has dropped dramatically, and students now have the opportunity to get more individualized attention, as well as new activities.

Ingram said feedback has been very positive despite some growing pains, and teachers and administrators, as well as board members are already discussing changes to next year's schedule that will improve the placement of Support Fridays throughout the year, so that they can be made even better use of.

He said one particular improvement he's seen is that students who are uncomfortable asking questions in normal class time, are finding opportunities to do that during support Fridays, which is something he was really hoping for.

Allen said, as a parent, she's seen some highs and lows, but her children are making use of the new schedule well.

Her oldest, she said, is heavily involved in extracurriculars and uses Support Fridays to catch up on missed work, or to get ahead of that work beforehand.

She said her middle schooler needs one-on-one help, and teachers have been great about keeping her informed when they think an upcoming Support Friday will be beneficial to her child specifically, which has allowed them not just to increase their academic performance, but to connect with their teacher as a person, which is wonderful.

Allen said teachers and students seem happier and more rested and she believes if they commit to this new schedule, they will see improvements continue to materialize.

Compton said she had less direct experience with the new schedule than her fellows, as all of her children have graduated, and there do seem to be some challenges, but the overall effects seem to be positive, and as long as that stays the case the school is on the right track.

Another big question, albeit one for which the candidates had virtually the exact same things to say, was about the dueling charter school bills passed by the last Montana Legislature.

The bills, about which there is ongoing litigation, both would allow the creation of public charter schools in the state but one requires them to answer to elected school boards, while the other doesn't.

None of the candidates viewed this as a positive change, saying traditional public schools are doing the job of educating children, and the creation of this kind of charter school in the area will only decrease their enrollment and, consequently, their state funding, which they need.

Despite their unified position on the matter, all the candidates said they doubt there is enough demand for these schools in the Havre area that it will be a problem they need to deal with.

Larson, Allen and Compton all said they hope for voter support, thanked those who came to the forum and said they want to be a part of Havre's public education system.

Ingram had a simpler closing remark.

"Go Blue Ponies," he said.