Malta Public Schools to Explore Four Day Week

On October 12th the Malta School Board met for the monthly meeting. Besides school faculty, in attendance were Shari Solberg, Dennis Oxarart and John Dovre.

Principal Shawn Bleth gave his administrative report and opened with a rundown of happenings, recent and coming up.

The end of the first quarter has already slipped by, indicating the school year is rushing by. He stated it is time for parent-teacher conferences; the high school band and choir concert is scheduled for Oct. 24th. The school play is also rapidly approaching, and will be held on Nov. 6th and 7th.

Bleth said homecoming had gone well, the parade was big and he was pleased with the event.

Elementary Principal Zach Handley thanked the CattleWomen for their help in getting Ag Day back into the school after a hiatus with Covid. He thanked Mrs. Kendra Veit for spearheading the goal of community involvement and having ag related businesses help serve breakfast.

Handley also shared that Dylan Cook of the Pittsburgh Steelers, had visited for the 4th and 5th graders. He had a student who approached Cook and asked of him, “You said you played for Tampa Bay and Tom Brady last year and this year you play for the Steelers. Is that a downgrade?” Handley chuckled and added his own response, “…I think so!”

Though it’s been happening, he finally witnessed the leak in one of the rooms, it is on the list for repairs.

Wrestling has started for the 5th graders; parent-teacher conferences are Oct. 23 and 24. The week of the 23rd will be Red Ribbon Week.

The fire department will be holding a drill on fire safety will be held on Oct. 31st. He also said Mrs. Anita Green will be in charge of a special (but not real spooky) Halloween luncheon.

There was a presentation at the Little White Church, with Undersheriff Faith Robinson as one of the speakers. She addressed community issues and youth, Mike Ryan (Pharmacist) spoke on disposing of prescription drugs. Janice Reichelt spoke about mental health issues; Gina Lamb also gave a presentation.

Athletic Director Jake Norby stated football senior night had gone well and he thanked the seniors for their leadership. He expressed how well the homecoming activities had gone and said, “…the tradition of excellence continues and it was a good experience.”

The Cross Country meet that was hosted at the Marian Hills Golf Course had proved to be a tough course and no one from Malta had placed in the top placings. The event was computerized and was a new twist on things from usual meets.

Norby said the football and volleyball teams were sitting pretty good; the Junior High seventh grade team had won the championship to end their season on a good note.

High School Speech and Drama is starting up.

He stated there had been some issues with the website for following the sporting events, and that has been resolved.

There was a leak in the wrestling room and things were taken care of for now.

He stated upcoming dates for sports, including district, divisional and state competitions.

The next item on the agenda was the bid for snow removal. The board had only received one bid, which was from John Dovre, at the rate of $100 per hour. The board unanimously voted to accept the bid; this is the 13th or 14th year he has provided service to the school.

The board reviewed the contract involving the East Malta Colony, the Harlem Colony and Harlem School; it was passed in favor.

Mr. Bleth then addressed the matter of moving to a four-day school week, of the individuals that had responded to the recent survey; 83% were in favor of exploring the possibility.

Supt. Steve Bucks said there needs to be a subcommittee that will begin the investigative steps to determine the feasibility.

Board member Angel DeVries said, “…there is a lot of work to do” before a decision can be made. There are three steps that begin the process and two board members agreed to work on the committee to start the process rolling. The process is approximately four to six weeks down the road and that it will involve a lot of meetings.

A “listening session” will be held for public input about the possibility of a four-day school week has been scheduled for Monday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. in the High School Auditorium. Written remarks can be submitted via email to: [email protected] if you are interested in providing your thoughts on the matter. Comments and attendance at the session are welcome from all tax payers.

The next item on the evenings’ agenda was a possible closed session. The meeting did not go into closed session, instead Mr. Bucks said there had been an incident between a fan and referee at a football game. He had received an official complaint following the incident. Bucks said the school had lost a referee crew over the matter and had to find others to fill in. He recommended suspension and the individual not being able to attend games for the 2023 season, and if such behavior and actions continued it would be extending the suspension. Following discussion, the board moved and accepted the recommendation.

Applications for high school janitors had been received and the board voted to hire Kitty Howland and Miriam Fauth to fill the positions. The board also voted to approve the hiring of Katy Anderson (girls) and Ryan Lankford (boys) as middle school basketball coaches.

Mr. Bleth presented to the board his recommendation of allowing a senior to graduate with 20 credits, which will include the mandatory English credit as set forth by OPI; following discussion, the board approved the recommendation.

Principal Handley addressed the agenda item regarding the head lice policy. County Health Nurse, Jenny Tollefson, provided information from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and what the health department is bound to by law; she also explained the recommended treatment and return to school policy. Changes were recommended in the school board policy handbook. It was also voted on to have the teacher of a class (student) with active head lice to send a letter home with the students sharing that lice had been detected in a student and was being addressed. This means of communication was implemented to keep parents “in the know” and hopefully resolve any issues of misunderstanding and wrong information. Parents with concerns can contact the County Health Nurse at 406-654-2521 Monday through Thursday, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Mrs. Anna LaBrie spoke before the board seeking their approval to attend, through EF Education First, a nine-day trip to Panama in 2025. Since the students need to raise funds, school board approval is needed. She said at this time there are 10 students who have expressed interest in attending. The opportunity is open to any student; last summer a group went to Scotland, England and Ireland. The board gave their approval for the project.

The board gave approval for the middle school wrestling team to travel to North Dakota for competitions. Discussion focused on bus drivers available for a trip of this length and amount of travel time. Motion was made and approved.

The board reviewed School Board Policy 5251 regarding departure of any district employee who has signed a contract for the upcoming year, and leaves after signing a contract. With the intent to eliminate late resignation, the board voted and approved fees of $500 and $1,000 for terminating the contract on set certain dates. It was stated that when contracts are broken and the school is about to start, filling positions at a late date in the year causes stress, extra expense, extra time interviewing and the possibility the position will not be filled.

Supt. Bucks shared in his report of the possible reduction in funding from the State in the next fiscal year. While there is nothing definite, he shared concerns about the differences in revenue.

The next regular board meeting will be Wed., Nov. 8th at 7 p.m.