Happy Wednesday Beacon readers, and welcome to today’s Daily Roundup, coming to you from Mariah Thomas on my last day in the office for a little while before I undergo an ACL repair surgery. Long story short, I pretzeled instead of pizza-ing while learning how to ski, and it didn’t end well. My inbox is open if you’ve got any tips on ACL recovery or things to do when moving much isn’t an option.
Enough about that though. There’s much more important news to get to today, like an update on Cayuse Prairie School District’s superintendent search.
The small, rural district in the east valley mounted its hunt for someone to take over the role of long-term head administrator Amy Piazzola, who announced her retirement last month. The Montana School Boards Association stepped in to help the district conduct its search, which resulted in an eight-applicant pool, which the district narrowed to three who are currently in the running as semi-finalists for the position.
Those three are Christy Bortz, Mandi Wiggington and Dr. Shannon Marshall — and the public will have a chance to meet them if they so wish this week.
The board will hold its initial interviews in person, beginning at 5:30 p.m., tomorrow evening. Each candidate will interview for one hour, and board chair Tyler Hash said the public is welcome to attend either in person or online. A virtual link is available to watch the interview on the school’s website.
Then, on Friday at 5:30 p.m., the board will host deliberations to determine which candidates it will move forward as finalists for a second interview. The public is invited to participate in those deliberations, which will again take place in person with a virtual option.
On March 10, the district will host its finalists for school tours and a roundtable with staff, before a community-led interview to take place at 6 p.m. on that day. At that interview, Hash said a pair of community moderators will “pose questions distilled from a recent community survey on superintendent hiring priorities.”
And on March 12, the district will wrap its hiring process, hosting a round of public deliberations at 5:30 before coming to its hiring decision.
Cayuse Prairie isn’t the sole district in the valley working on selecting a new superintendent. Whitefish is in the throes of its superintendent selection process as well, with plans to decide on a candidate March 5.
And… that’s what I’ve got for today’s Roundup. Onto the rest of the news.
Although the commission reached a consensus on the 20-year planning document, some commissioners gave their OK begrudgingly following the multi-year process that has been marked by contention
Montana Ag Groups Applaud Supreme Court Ruling Overturning Some Tariffs
That ruling stems from a suit filed by two small businesses. But members of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana filed their own lawsuit first, arguing that Trump infringed on tribal sovereignty.
Flathead County Health Board Forwards New Septic Regulations to Commissioners
Since 2004, the county has largely required pressure septic systems. The proposed new regulations would allow for gravity-fed septic systems, a method that has been criticized as a lower treatment standard.
Rural School Administrators Report Mounting Mandates, Limited Support from State and Federal Agencies
An uptick in reporting and testing requirements has placed an undue burden on Montana’s small school superintendents. Five schools in Flathead County are set to lose their top administrators this year.
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