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1/31/2025
“Missoula This Week” is reported and written By Katie Fairbanks. Send your Missoula news and tips to [email protected].
Proposed policy increases regulation of cell phones, other devices in classrooms
The Missoula County Public Schools board this week advanced a new policy regulating student use of cell phones and other personal electronic devices at school.
The policy was informed by a survey of staff, students and parents conducted in October and largely bans smartphone use in the classroom, with some exceptions. The proposal is more strict than the district’s current policy, which states that schools may regulate the use of devices while on school property and that use in the classroom is at the teacher’s discretion.
In November, the board discussed the survey and questioned middle and high school principals about the enforcement of the current policy. Following that meeting, each middle school and high school hosted an evening event to gather additional feedback, said Amy Shattuck, the district’s assistant superintendent, during the board meeting on Monday.
“There were a few parents who responded they were in favor of a complete ban, but the majority wanted a happy medium where there’s a consistent district policy where students do not use their phones in the classroom to distract their learning,” Shattuck said.
The proposed policy states that the district supports the use of electronics and the internet to facilitate learning, that schools may regulate their use and recommends that students not bring cell phones or other devices to school. A building administrator can revoke a student’s cell phone privileges and require the device to be surrendered upon arrival at the school and returned at dismissal.
For elementary and middle schools, the policy prohibits the use of phones and other devices, like smartwatches or earbuds, throughout the instructional day. Devices must be turned off and out of sight except for students with medical reasons and prior approval. Parents can call the school office and messages will be relayed to students. Those breaking the rules will have their phones confiscated and returned at the end of the day. Repeat offenders may be required to have a parent meeting or parent pick up the device.
Superintendent Micah Hill said the district does not want to take away and not give back phones or other devices parents use to track or communicate with their children.
“We’re not trying to create a hardship, but we are trying to draw a hard line in the sand and say, ‘We’re not allowing these devices, they need to remain off or don’t bring them at all,’ through our elementary grades,” Hill said during the meeting.
For high schools, staff presented two options for trustees to choose from. The first was similar to the current rule giving teachers discretion to allow cell phone use in the classroom. The second option, which has building administrator support, would prohibit device use during instructional time, Hill said. Students could use phones before or after school, during lunch and during passing periods. During instructional time, devices must be off and out of sight except for approved medical reasons. Students can request administrative approval to use devices for other “compelling reasons.” Staff may request approval to use devices as an instructional tool during class.
“The idea is that when you’re in my classroom from 8 to 8:50, your device has to be put away,” Hill said. “There’s no exception for me to just allow you to have your phone or whatever it is. It either goes put away where we don’t see it or it has to be put into a caddy. A lot of teachers are using phone caddies for attendance-related strategies.”
Trustee Jenny Walsh said creating a district-wide policy provides cover to teachers to enforce it. Walsh said her middle schooler told her a lot of phone use happens when classes have a substitute teacher and suggested the policy be part of onboarding.
Trustees Meg Whicher and Lisa Davey raised some concerns about telling teachers what to do in their classrooms. Hill said while the district tries to make policy black and white, it often has to “work the gray,” as exceptions are hard to parse out in concrete language. The policy will be a substantial change, and it will take time to get students, teachers and administrators on board, he said.
Parent Porter Hammitt said he supported option two for high school students and hoped the district would eventually ban phones from campus.
Erika Peterman, one of the parents who first spurred the effort to update the policy, said many teachers told her they prefer the second option. Peterman said the regulation of phones is inconsistent across classrooms in part because it’s put on the teachers to figure out.
Scott Chook, the new president of the Missoula Education Association, said addressing phone use in schools is important as the “distraction factor” is over the top. But there are often good reasons teachers have students use phones, such as for a yearbook class, said Chook, a middle school teacher. He requested the language allowing teachers to use phones for instruction with permission be added to the elementary/middle school section of the policy.
Trustee Whicher said kindergarten through eighth grade should be totally phone-free during school hours. For things like the yearbook, students should be able to use their Chromebooks or other provided technology rather than personal phones that not all students have, she said.
Hill said while he sees her point, it’s beneficial to have some flexibility.
“I understand this is looking at limiting and prohibiting the use of, but also at some point, we’re going to turn these kids loose in the real world,” he said. “And where is the opportunity, starting at maybe sixth grade, seventh grade, eighth grade, to introduce them to responsible technology use from trusted adults, from someone who isn’t necessarily the parent, in the educational setting.”
The board approved moving forward with option two for high schools. Trustees also approved several changes to the proposal, including allowing middle school teachers to use devices for instruction with approval, adding language that removes privileges if phones are used for bullying, and removing language that could require parents to pick up a confiscated device.
The public can submit comments on the amended policy, which the board will consider before voting on it again in March.
Public Notice
The Missoula County commissioners are holding a public hearing Thursday on a $5.3 million tax increment financing request to construct a new public water system at the Wye west of Missoula. The request is part of a partnership the county is considering with Grass Valley Industrial to construct the water system in the area south of Interstate 90.
“It’s actually a really big deal,” said Andrew Hagemeier, the county’s director of Community and Economic Development. “When you start thinking about the issues we’re facing in Missoula, the fact that Missoula County is becoming proactive in planning and building infrastructure to facilitate development and growth and address things like the loss of our industrial base and housing issues, when you think about it that way, it’s really exciting.”
The developer would finance and construct the system in 2025 and the county would use a bond to purchase it and operate it under municipal standards. The TIF money, generated by the Wye I Targeted Economic Development District, would be used to pay back the bond, Hagemeier said. The Wye I TEDD has about $700,000 in revenue and the annual bond payment would be an estimated $400,000, he said. A special district would be created to cover operating costs.
The water system would initially serve the 18-lot Grass Valley Industrial Subdivision and Montana Knife Company’s planned 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. It would include a high-capacity well, a 500,000-gallon storage tank, booster pumps and distribution mains. It would support future development in the area and allow for connection to additional properties to create a regional water network. Nearby property owners would be able to connect to the system but would not be required to.
The extension to the Montana Knife Company, located in the Wye II TEDD, would cost about $800,000 and would be privately financed, Hagemeier said. The second TEDD, established in 2023, does not have enough money to help fund the project right now, but future extensions could be eligible for TIF money, he said.
“What tax increment financing does is it’s the one mechanism we have in law when we’re able to leverage future tax dollars so we don’t have to raise taxes to build this infrastructure,” Hagemeier said.
Hagemeier acknowledged the TEDDs can negatively impact fire and school taxing districts that are expected to provide service to the area without their tax base increasing. The county commissioners don’t create the development districts lightly and there’s always downsides to spending a large amount of public money, he said. Along with infrastructure improvements, the tax increment revenue generated by new development in the TEDD could go to help the districts, Hagemeier said.
On Jan. 22, the Missoula Development Authority recommended approval of the TIF application. The commissioners will hold a public hearing on the TIF request and consider the related development agreement with Grass Valley Industrial on Thursday, Feb. 6. The meeting begins at 2 p.m. in the Sophie Moiese Room of the Missoula County Courthouse. The public can also join the meeting online.
Following a 60-day comment period, the commissioners in April will hold a second public hearing and vote on creating the proposed special district to fund the water system operation.
5 Things to Know in Missoula
On Monday, the Missoula City Council paused annexation of the 235-acre Roseburg Forest Products property over concerns about legislation that would affect tax increment financing. The company requested the annexation and has been working with the city for months on the proposal following the closure of Roseburg’s particle board plant in May. Roseburg and the city planned to annex the site into the nearby North Reserve-Scott Street urban renewal district, which would make certain infrastructure projects eligible for tax increment financing. Roseburg representative Alan McCormick said if TIF can’t work, development may look different than envisioned and take longer. Senate Bills 2 and 117 would essentially remove incentives cities and counties have to create districts, “the only economic development tool we have,” said Ellen Buchanan, executive director of the Missoula Redevelopment Agency. Neither bill has so far received a committee vote.
On Thursday night, Poverello Center outreach workers and volunteers surveyed people living unhoused in Missoula as part of the annual Point in Time Count. The voluntary survey includes those staying at the Poverello Center and Johnson Street shelters and living unsheltered in the community. The HUD-required count is used to track trends, allocate resources and inform decisions about how to best provide care, according to the Poverello Center. The 2024 survey counted 449 homeless people in Missoula, up from 356 the previous year. As a voluntary, one-night survey, the Point in Time count has limitations and is often lower than numbers recorded in the local database, according to the Missoula Continuum of Care Coalition.
The Habitat for Humanity of Missoula is accepting applications for a one-bedroom home in East Missoula through Feb. 17. The home is already built, and the new owner must agree to put in “sweat equity” on other Habitat projects, said Tor Gudmundsson, the nonprofit’s executive director. To be eligible, applicants must have lived or worked in Missoula for the past calendar year, make 40% to 80% of the area median income, agree to the sweat equity requirement and be able to pay a mortgage. The interest rate is 0% and the mortgage is based on income, but applicants with significant outstanding debts or poor credit may not qualify, Gudmundsson said. Those interested can pick up an application at the Habitat office or request one via email. Applications for larger three-bedroom homes will open later this year, Gudmundsson said.
The Missoula City Council on Wednesday increased the contract for processing debris from the July windstorm by $800,000, bringing the total to $2.4 million. The July 24 storm, which included wind gusts of 80 to 100 mph, damaged thousands of public and private trees. In August, the mayor signed an emergency contract with Terra Firma not to exceed $800,000, while the amount of storm debris was still unknown. The council doubled the contract amount in early December. The federal government should reimburse the city for about 75% of the cost.
Walls are going up on the first building of the Scott Street-Ravara housing development on the Northside. Construction is occurring on the community land trust portion of the site, which will include 89 for-sale condos and townhomes, about half of which will be income-qualified for households earning less than 120% of the area median income. The first building along Scott Street, which will include eight townhomes for sale, is expected to be completed in January 2026, according to the North Missoula Community Development Corporation. Homes are expected to be ready for sale by summer 2026, and those interested can contact [email protected] for more information.
Comings and Goings
The Riverwalk Crisis Receiving Center, which provides short-term help to those experiencing mental health crises, will temporarily close Friday, Jan. 31.
Bob Lopp, CEO of Western Montana Mental Health Center, said Riverwalk was operating at a loss and the pause will allow leaders to determine how to sustainably continue services.
“There’s a huge community need for it,” Lopp told MTFP. “We find that same need in all the counties that we serve — Flathead, Lake, Powell, Ravalli. People all over the country are struggling with trying to figure out how to help people respond to crisis, to get them the quality of care needed, the right resources, and how to coordinate those things.”
The 16-bed center, located on the Western Montana Mental Health Center campus, opened in November 2023 to provide assessment, treatment and connection to resources for adults suffering a mental health crisis 24/7. Western worked with Providence Montana, Missoula County and a coalition of organizations to open the center to fill a gap in services and divert people from the hospital emergency room or jail.
The center employed therapists, peer support workers, care coordinators, nurses and crisis stabilization workers. Lopp said Western offered positions to all staff in other areas of the organization.
Missoula County contributed about $1 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money and about $500,000 in other funding to help cover upfront costs. The center billed Medicaid and insurance, but clients could receive services regardless of insurance coverage.
Similar centers in other states have funding partnerships between federal, state and local governments and philanthropic organizations, Lopp said. Society is going to pay for people in crisis, whether that’s the cost of jail stays or other emergency responses, he said.
Lopp said Western and its partners are examining how to continue service and meet the community’s needs. That may mean operating Riverwalk differently, he said.
“We are implementing, with all the community partners, how we route people to various programs and resources,” Lopp said. “We will continue to all work together closely to do what we can with the resources we have to help folks out.”
Might Be Fun
The Missoula Public Library, with Here Montana, Montessori Plus International and the Gamelan Manki Harum music group, is holding a Lunar New Year Celebration from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1. Attendees can welcome the Year of the Snake, learn about and participate in traditions and celebrations many Asian cultures have for the holiday. The event will also include dance and music performances and family-friendly activities such as origami, calligraphy and paper lantern-making.