The School Board met for their regular February monthly meeting on Valentine’s Day, with all members in attendance, and Trustee Amanda Zimmer dressed for the holiday, sporting a black sweater featuring red embroidered hearts.

School Counselor Dori Phillips spoke with the board about the results of a survey given last fall to a group of junior high and high school students. The survey gauged several self-reported mental health factors in the students including depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide. Out of 30 students surveyed, 63% had indicated they had felt recent anxiety, which could include test anxiety, as an example. 73% of those surveyed had felt depression symptoms, and 20% had reported suicidality, that is, thoughts, plans or attempts at suicide.

The test also surveyed students’ resilience, measuring their support structures such as friends and family and their abilities to overcome difficult situations. This test showed half of the students showing low percentages of resilience, and is something that could be worked on to help decrease the other factors.

Phillips noted that the results would help tailor the schools’ mental health assets to better assist the students, commenting in an earlier meeting that measuring and assessing the student’s mental health was an important step in treatment. Phillips said that she is able to tailor the services needed for the students, such as talking to the students individually and helping them build skills to overcome negative thoughts – in other words helping to increase their resilience.

The board then approved two substitute teacher applications, for Clair Drane and Brooke Billing, with Trustee Waylon Billing abstaining from the vote due to a family member being hired.

Committees were also set up to handle applications which had come through for teacher openings at the elementary and high school.

Pep band travel guidelines were then discussed. As the guidelines currently state, the band travels to District tournaments and State, but not Divisional tournaments. This has been a point of contention with parents and students, who would like to see the band at the Divisional level. Teacher Jacy Collins was on hand to ask about a potential change in policy, noting that fundraising efforts could be made to pay for the band’s trip. This method was used in the past to help fund the journey. Some quick “back of the napkin” math indicated that a trip to Miles City would cost the school around $300 for a bus and driver, plus the cost of meals for students if they stayed for any length of time.

Discussion was held on whether the location of the Divisional Tournament could determine whether or not the band would travel, for example Miles City vs. Laurel, or a football playoff game hundreds of miles away.

Though support seemed strong for Divisional Band, no motion was made on the matter at the February meeting.

A motion was held to hold a potential levy election, with the board voting in favor. Three trustee positions will also be up this year.

The board approved the contract of Clerk Dixie Mitchell and Principal Denise Ternes for the 2022-23 school year, with a raise which will match the percentage of the classified staff – that number is still in the works.

Superintendent Hansen then presented a slide show to the board about potential future funding problems. As the budget currently sits, around $200,000 comes from non-levied funds, much of which is money from Belle Creek. Potential changes to funding at a state level could pull a lot of that funding away from the local schools and distribute it more widely across the state, or a drop in production could hinder that money from filtering to the schools. Hansen emphasized that though the school is currently in fairly good shape financially, trustees should look towards the future and a potential loss in revenue, noting in his slide show “What do you want to leave for future students and the next trustee?”

He commented that when the faucet for money is turned on for a project, it’s hard to turn off further down the road: “I just want you to be aware of our spending. Do what you believe is best for the district.”

The next regular meeting of the board will take place on March 14 at 7 PM.