It's early morning when I write this, and the birds are singing loudly. I love the mornings because it's a new day, and possibilities are just beginning. Kelly and Jody Haaland have lived here for four years and are now moving on to new possibilities. I wanted to tell them thank you and goodbye. I wanted to tell them, "I enjoyed getting to know you! Being a school superintendent is a difficult job." Kelly was always willing to work with me, and when I needed some time to ask questions, he always made time. Jody is always cheerful and smiling, and I regret I never got to know her better.
I was curious about where he thought education in Montana was and where it was heading. What possibilities are in our future? He told me Montana needs to treat its teachers better. They need better salaries. But where are we going to get the money to do it? The legislation tries to work on it for one year, and then the next year, funds are moved. The Lottery was supposed to go to education. Now those dollars are put into the general fund, so every department uses them. Privatization of schools is a priority of this current administration in Montana, and Kelly believes the Governor is really saying, "You are on your own." He thinks the current Montana Superintendent of Schools, Elsie Arntzen, who believes in privatization, is destroying public education.
Kelly still loves education. He's been in the field for 20 years, but education has changed. It used to be everyone had a role, and you stayed in your lane. You respected each other's area of responsibility. As Kelly was trying to explain his views, I offered the word entitled, and he said yes, that's it. "Students think they are entitled, and so do parents. Teachers. Not just in Big Sandy but in every school." This is a topic I had discussed before with different teachers from Havre. He still loves his kids.
Kelly wanted to say at the end of our coffee interview, "I have good feelings about the community, and the people are wonderful. I have good memories here, and I had a lot of challenges."
