Today, January 19, the Montana State Senate will discussed SB 107,a bill that could lead to the expansion of Hellgate elementary from a K-8 facility to a K-12 facility. Missoula County School District one Superintendent Alex Apostle believes the expansion would hurt Missoula.

"I strongly believe that K-8 expansion would move in a direction that is contrary to overall public sentiment and would be highly detrimental and damaging to our current, exceedingly successful, educational program in the Missoula County Public Schools and overall, would have a negative impact on Missoula," Apostle said.

Apostle says a new high school so close to three others will drain teachers, resources, and endanger successful programs.

"If they were to go forward, number one, we would lose revenue and tax base, that's number one," Apostle said. "And we'd lose teaching positions, because you get funded in a school district based on the number of students that you have currently in attendance and if another high school were to be built, we would lose students over time."

Hellgate Elementary Superintendent Doug Reisig sees the situation differently. Reisig spoke with our news partners at NBC Montana and said that the expansion of Hellgate elementary would help provide “a well-rounded educational experience within the contexts of the educational philosophy that has guided Hellgate Elementary for so many, many years and has placed it as a premiere educational institution in Montana.”

 

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