School District begins to crunch budget figures

The Troy School District must evaluate ways to trim its budget because of a decline in enrollment numbers, which means decreased funding from the state of Montana.

The School Board met Monday to discuss the district’s financial status. 

The budget for the elementary school, including seventh and eighth grade, will see a deficit of approximately $50,000 and the high school will see $35,000. 

With no way to increase revenue, the Board must determine the areas to make cuts to meet the financial needs. 

The Board acknowledged the retirement of Glenn Herman, high school special-education teacher, and Tony Smith, longtime basketball coach. 

The hiring and rehiring of fall-sports coaches for 2012-’13 school year also was on the agenda. 

Dallas Carr and Jeff Hawk will be assistant football coaches; Brendan Miller and Justin Young will act as junior high football coaches; Destinie Hammer will be the assistant volleyball coach, and Courtney Fisher and Hannah Coy will act as junior high volleyball coaches.

Gear-Up grant tutors Denikka Miller and Jeremy Lizotte will be available to students after school to assist students with their studies. 

An agreement was established with Frontier Communications and a contract was approved to increase the Internet bandwidth for the Troy schools. 

The district will lease the equipment from Frontier, providing the school with 20 megabits compared to five megabits.

Jacob Francom, High School Principal, announced a presentation by Mac Bledsoe, father of NFL quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe’s father is the founder of a program called Parenting with Dignity. 

Bledsoe will present to the students in Troy on Tuesday, March 27. 

Parents and individuals interested in ways to teach children about morals, values and ethics are invited for an additional presentation held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27 at the Troy Activity Center.  

   The Board also discussed the Flathead Valley Community College (FVCC) program Running Start. 

Troy High School students will have the opportunity through Running Start to take classes and receive dual credits — credit through FVCC and for the high school.  

Currently no applications have been returned for the Troy School Board Member election. 

Persons interested may pick up an application in the administration office, the deadline for submissions is March 29.