TF moves ahead with strategic plan

The Thompson Falls School Board continued reviewing the Independent Strategic Action Plan (ISAP) for the district at Monday’s board meeting.

Superintendent Bud Scully reviewed the priorities gathered from public engagement meetings and a survey that was available to the community. “Safety will always be the number one priority whether you tell me it is or not,” Scully told the school board. Scully went over the top 10 priorities – additional personnel, course offerings, facility improvements, safety, board issues, human resources, curriculum, extracurricular programs, social issues and miscellaneous – and the board determined which had been completed, which were long-term goals and which needed to be removed from the scope of the ISAP.

Scully said the other big thing was a four-day versus five-day school week. “It had a lot of support in the survey. More and more districts are doing that,” he noted. Scully added that he is looking at forming charter schools for grades K-8 and for 9-12. “We would get additional aid of about $400,000 per school,” Scully explained. “This could be a thing for Sanders County that we could help with and prevent some dropouts and help kids that just can’t function in a regular classroom. If we could get that, it’s a financial benefit to the district but also an educational benefit to the community.”

Board member Jeneese Baxter said having preschool would also be very beneficial to the community and suggested putting it higher on the list of goals. Teacher Lynette Elliott suggested exploring the idea of combining the preschool program with the possibility of a charter school. “That’s a good idea,” Scully replied.

“I don’t know how you can plan so far in the future when so much can change in 20 years,” board chairperson Sandra Muster expressed. Scully told her that he thinks most of the goals can be accomplished in five years.

One need identified from the public engagement was less federal grants, but Scully said that is not possible. “We can’t function without federal money,” he stated. Scully added that they will continue to get input from stakeholders.

Elementary principal Len Dorscher said the Veterans Day lunch was a huge success. “The kids had a great time and seeing the interaction between the veterans and the kids is great,” he added. High school principal Jodi Morgan reported that the Blue Hawk fundraiser raised approximately $22,000 in November for uniforms and equipment for activities. She also reported that there was a competition for parent/teacher conference participation. The freshman class had the highest participation rate and was rewarded with a pizza party.

On November 28, the Blue Hawk Chapter of the National Honor Society inducted 13 new members.

The next school board meeting will be Monday, January 8, at 6 p.m.