On Feb. 10, a note was placed on a door at Whittier Elementary School. The note, containing a bomb threat directed at multiple Great Falls’ schools, prompted a city-wide shut down of all Great Falls Public Schools, and most private schools. While law enforcement officers from multiple agencies worked to inspect and clear every school in Great Falls, a simultaneous
Read more
The graduation rate for Great Falls Public Schools for the class of 2019 was 83.38 percent, up 3.35 percent from the previous, according to district officials. Heather Hoyer, the secondary assistant superintendent at GFPS, reviewed the dropout and graduation rate data for the school board during their Jan. 27 meeting. For the class of 2019, there were 109 dropouts, versus
Read more
School board members voted unanimously during their Oct. 21 meeting to keep using the same evaluation process for the superintendent as the board has used for nearly a decade. The process includes public participation. Moore selected as next GFPS superintendent Jan Cahill, board chair, said he discussed the process with current superintendent Tom Moore, who didn’t suggest any changes to
Read more
The Great Falls Public Schools board of trustees voted 6-0 during their special meeting on Aug. 22 to approve the $92.4 million budget for the current fiscal year. Since school districts levy taxes to hit a certain dollar level, when the value of mills increases, the district typically has to levy fewer mills, according to Brian Patrick, GFPS director of
Read more
The Great Falls Public Schools board of trustees will meet for a special meeting Aug. 22 to consider the 2019-2020 budget. During the Aug. 19 school board meeting, GFPS staff reviewed the proposed budget. Brian Patrick, GPFS director of operations, said a number of factors impacted this year’s budget including legislative changes, the Calumet tax protest, no levy request, inflation
Read more
The Great Falls Public Schools district is considering establishing a new policy regarding the use of therapy animals in schools. The school board heard the proposed policy on first reading during their Aug. 19 meeting and the proposed policy will be on the Sept. 9 agenda for action. School officials said their have been some instances over the years where
Read more
Great Falls Public Schools’ budget committee met Friday morning to review preliminary budget options for the upcoming fiscal year. In March, the school board opted not to pursue a levy for operational funds and GFPS is projecting a nearly $1 million shortfall. GFPS budget committee meeting is May 3 The district is looking at different ways to address that shortfall,
Read more