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With the upcoming General Fund Mill Levy going before the voters on May 7th, I wanted to write in informing the public of the impact of that mill levy. The levy amount is $17,542.81 and the impact on a taxpayer is as follows: $100,000 home value= $2.75, $300,000 home value=$8.26, $600,0000 home value=$16.52 Your school district prides itself on being fiscally responsible with the public’s funds. An example of being fiscally conservative is when your Trustees chose not to run a mill levy last year. Instead, we tightened our belt and did more w...
On behalf of your school district, you are cordially invited to attend an information meeting at the Big Sandy High School on 6/22/23. This meeting will focus on the upcoming school year and the lack of bus drivers for our transportation routes. During this past year the school district has continually advertised and recruited bus drivers with little to no success. Additionally, the routes were put out to bid in May and no bids were received. If the school district does not have bus drivers, we...
It is hard for me to believe that this is the last day of school for the Pioneer staff and students. It seems odd to me for the school to be this quiet and devoid of the laughter that we shared throughout the 2022-2023 school year. Odd as that may be, I am so very appreciative and happy for all of those who gave so much of themselves and their time and those who have grown so very much throughout this past school year. I want to wish all of you my best wishes for a safe and memorable summer under the Big Sky with family and friends. I’d also l...
Last week I had the opportunity to invest in the health and wellness of our students, staff, and guests of both F.E. Miley Elementary School and Big Sandy High School. The cost of this investment is completely paid for by a grant program made available through Montana’s Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and The Montana Portable Air Cleaner Program, which was funded through a $10 million dollar grant from the federal government to the State of Montana to improve indoor air quality and air circulation as a mitigation measure for C...
One of the very best parts of my job as a school superintendent is that I have both the privilege and the honor of having a front row seat to the accomplishments of our students. Those accomplishments come in many forms, from academic to athletic, to co-curricular events and activities. For the sake of this article I will focus on our recent 6 Man Football State Championship. The word on the street when I moved to Big Sandy in June was that our football team was pretty good but unfortunately they had fallen short in the playoffs in previous...
“Teamwork Makes The Dream Work” This past weekend I had the good fortune and opportunity to witness the community of Big Sandy rally together in support of our school and its football program. The kindness and generosity of those in Big Sandy was on full display for the benefit of others. Big Sandy, like most of northeastern Montana on Saturday, experienced 60 plus mph wind gusts. The force of those gusts knocked power out in our community for quite some time. Within a couple of minutes of the power going out, our Athletic Director gave me a c...
Community Engagement Throughout my career in education, regardless of position or the school served, one common theme has typically risen to the forefront. That theme was and is that when we work together, when the school district and the community that it serves work together in support of one another, everyone wins and those relationships and the support born from them, grow. There are many examples of how this plays out throughout the year…booster club and other parent and community member organizations working together with the school in a...
I am unsure about the title but after staring at a blank page for admittedly far too long, I figured I needed to call this column something. That “something” is my perspective as the school superintendent for the Big Sandy Pioneers. My intent in writing this column is to share my perspective and insight into our school district and the profession that is education. For better or worse, here goes “something.” I’m writing this to you from Helena, Montana where I am attending the annual SAM(School Administrators of Montana) Administrators Institut...
