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3/14/2025
“Missoula This Week” is reported and written By Katie Fairbanks. Send your Missoula news and tips to [email protected].
Declining enrollment is straining the district’s budget, officials said
Several teachers and parents voiced concerns during a school board meeting on Tuesday about potential teacher layoffs and changes to class sizes the Missoula County Public Schools District is considering to address a budget shortfall.
Superintendent Micah Hill said declining elementary enrollment is hitting the budget, but the full repercussions are unclear as school funding bills are still making their way through the state Legislature. The district also depends on passing operational levies of about $200,000 for elementary schools and $600,000 for high schools that will be on the ballot in May, he said.
K-5 enrollment decreased by 84 students this year, which represents a loss of seven to nine teaching positions because of how the district’s budget is built around “Average Number Belonging,” the average number of students in classrooms as counted on two fixed days during the previous school year, Hill said. The ANB funding accounts for 80% of the district’s budget, and the enrollment decline means about $500,000 is no longer available for next year, he said.
The district has fewer students in the lower grades, with about 500 in kindergarten and first grade compared to about 620 in fourth grade, Hill said.
“As long as enrollments continue to be either flat or declining we’re going to continue to have to make decisions on where to make programmatic cuts,” he said. “Sometimes the decision is we are going to increase class sizes in order to save someone else’s job or to provide for students in a different way. It’s just a hard reality for us.”
The net reduction is three staff from early learning through eighth grade, Hill said in an email. Those teachers will likely still be employed through traditional attrition such as retirements or resignations, he said.
The district in late February began notifying non-tenured teachers that their contract might not be renewed, Scott Chook, president of the Missoula Education Association, told Montana Free Press. Chook did not know how many positions were affected. The district can cut non-tenured staff up until June 1. Under the union’s collective bargaining agreement with the district, displaced tenured teachers, those with four or more years at the district, are typically guaranteed a job but not necessarily the same position, he said. Cuts are made at grade level and any affected tenured teachers could “bump” a teacher with no tenure or less seniority, Chook said.
The district also told 31 teachers on a one-year contract who are filling in for teachers on maternity leave, sabbatical or another leave of absence that they don’t have a job next year, Hill said.
The early notice gives staff time to work through the placement process outlined in the collective bargaining agreement or look for other work, said Trevor Laboski, the district’s executive director of human resources. Last year, the district notified more than 200 non-tenured teachers they may lose their jobs before eventually cutting 47 positions in late May, Hill said.
“It’s not a very humane thing to do,” he said. “It’s a moral killer. It’s super hard on people so we made the conscious decision not to do that this year.”
Chook said while he agrees notifying all non-tenured teachers that they may be cut is not the best approach, it may not have been clear to those teachers that their positions were not safe as the budget is still a moving target. The union and HR want affected teachers to have enough time to work through their options, he said.
“We work really hard with HR to make things the best we can for the most people,” Chook said. “Our HR department can sometimes be perceived as just talking about positions and not people. I know they really do care about the people; that’s been my experience working closely with them.”
While many of the teachers, parents and staff who commented during the meeting acknowledged the district’s financial circumstances, they opposed the potential teacher cuts and increases in class sizes.
Susan Ray, a second-grade teacher at Chief Charlo Elementary School, said while the changes are not certain, if teachers did have 33 kids in a classroom, the workload would be too much. The state standard for third grade is 28 students. Monitoring that many students, some with individualized education plans or challenging behaviors, would jeopardize teachers’ mental health, she said.
“In my 44 years of teaching these are the most challenging years, the most challenging kids, the most challenging parents, and you would be making it worse by allowing 33 kids in a classroom,” Ray said.
Parent Katy Slagell said if classrooms have too many students, some kids’ behavioral or other struggles might go unnoticed.
Laboski, the HR executive director, said the changes at Chief Charlo and other schools are not set in stone and classrooms won’t have 33 students. The district may “level” students from their home schools to those with more room to even out class sizes, Hill said.
“I recognize that the decisions we talk about and the things we discuss touch the lives of dedicated educators, our students and our community as a whole,” he said. “When we discuss staffing, we’re not just moving numbers around on a spreadsheet. We’re affecting real people, and I think the board recognizes that. … All that being said, we also have to confront a reality.”
Tessa Masters, a third-grade teacher at Chief Charlo, told MTFP the district notified her after school on March 6 that her position was being cut and she had to make a decision by 7 the next morning whether to stay at the school and displace a less-tenured teacher. Masters said her only choice was to cut a pre-k teacher, which felt “unfair” because she has only taught third through fifth grade. Tenured teachers who are cut from their building can fill an open position within the district but those may be slim pickings, Masters said.
Masters said she and other teachers are upset by the process this year because, unlike last year, these cuts were not foreshadowed.
Many are also concerned about the district’s plan to level students, Masters said. Moving students to different schools to even out class sizes can mean families end up with children at two different elementary schools, she said. Classes should always have room for incoming students, Masters said.
“If I could say anything to families, I would say to fight for their right to be at their home schools,” she said. “The district shouldn’t be able to tell you you have to have your kids at different schools. … If you buy a home in a neighborhood, you have the right to go to your home school.”
Missing woman’s body found in river
The body of a missing Colorado woman was recovered from the Clark Fork River near the Beartracks Bridge on Sunday, police reported.
Danit Ehrlich, 33, and her dog were reported missing on Feb. 21 and believed to have drowned, according to the Missoula Police Department. Ehrlich was traveling to Washington and her last known location was the area near Jacob’s Island Dog Park, police said.
At about 4 p.m. Sunday, the Missoula Fire Department responded to a 911 call reporting a body in the river, according to the department. Ehrlich’s dog, Bamba, has not been located.
5 Things to Know in Missoula
On Thursday, the Missoula county commissioners approved several changes to the plan for the Blackfoot Crossing subdivision east of Missoula. Gregory Morse, the new owner of the 117-acre property formerly known as the West Bonner Log Yard, requested changes to the subdivision’s timeline, lot lines and easements ahead of future requests to change the growth policy designation and zoning to allow some commercial and residential development at the site along with industrial uses. Morse said Thursday he wants to be a good neighbor and provide employment and housing opportunities for the area.
In the next three to four weeks, surveyors will collect data on downtown city streets to inform the design of the Downtown Safety, Access and Mobility Project. The project, which includes converting Front Street and Main Street to two-ways and lane changes along Higgins Avenue, is primarily funded by a $24 million federal grant awarded in June 2023. Surveyors with local engineering firm DJ&A will collect data on property lines, street and sidewalk dimensions, elevations, utilities and locations of trees, light poles and signs throughout the project area. Some street work will lead to traffic control measures and lane restrictions. Most of this work will likely occur at night to minimize traffic disruptions, according to the city.
Missoula Parks and Recreation extended the Mount Jumbo south zone winter closure beyond its original reopening date of March 15. The south zone includes all areas south of the Saddle Road. The north zone, north of Saddle Road, remains closed until May 1 or later. The closure protects critical habitat for the Jumbo elk herd and other animals that rely on the lower elevations for food and cover during winter and early spring, according to the department. Reopening updates will be posted online next week.
On Tuesday, the Missoula County commissioners approved a $35,000 contract with Historical Research Associates for the Historic Museum at Fort Missoula’s new interpretive plan. The plan, the museum’s first in about 15 years, will guide future programming, exhibits and interpretation of the site. Museum Executive Director Matt Lautzenheiser said the consultants will solicit robust public feedback to determine what stories are important to the community, what’s missing from the museum and how those stories should be told.
On Monday, the Missoula City Council advanced a 12-month extension of the interim zoning code adopted in 2023 to comply with new state laws while the city’s code reform process is underway. The council first passed the interim code in October 2023 to incorporate legislative changes made during that year’s session. The interim code will expire upon adoption of the city’s new unified development code later this year. The council will vote on the extension on March 24.
By The Numbers
The increase to the city of Missoula’s contract with Greenbelt Turf Management to remove broken branches from about 2,500 trees damaged during the July 2024 windstorm. On Wednesday, the City Council approved increasing the original $387,000 contract to about $589,500 and adding 55 days to the project timeline. The original contract was to remove broken limbs from about 4,800 trees. Tree work in the city right-of-way and parks should be complete by early to mid-summer, said Morgan Valliant, associate director of the city’s ecosystem services division.
The city is tracking the storm recovery work to submit for federal reimbursement. FEMA covers 75% of eligible costs, and the city is responsible for the other 25% through staff time, contracts or cash, Valliant said.
St. Patrick’s Day Weekend
St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are scheduled throughout Saturday, beginning with an 8 a.m. mass at St. Francis Xavier church, followed by a parade through downtown at noon. Free carousel rides will be available at Caras Park from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Those interested can join a whiskey tasting at the Rhino Bar from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. for $65 and a banquet at the Holiday Inn downtown starting at 6 p.m. for $45. Banquet tickets are available online. The events are hosted by the University of Montana’s Irish Studies Program, the Friends of Irish Studies and the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
Anyone looking to hit the ground running this St. Patrick’s Day weekend can sign up for the Run for the Luck of It! race on Saturday at the Missoula County Fairgrounds. The race includes a free kids dash, a 5k route and a seven-mile route. The race kicks off with the kids dash at 8:45 a.m. Students from the Carroll-Henderson School of Irish Dance will perform before the race, and the Celtic Dragon Pipe Band will play at the finish line. Runners can then enjoy some traditional Irish food and beverages. Registration and other information is available online.
Those interested in learning more about Irish dance can attend a free performance and introductory lesson from dancers with the Carroll-Henderson School of Irish Dance on Saturday at the Missoula Public Library. The event is appropriate for all ages and begins at 3 p.m. in the Imaginarium on the library’s second floor.
