Bigfork Schools receive passenger buses

The Bigfork School Board met for their November meeting last Wednesday. The school recently received two 15 passenger buses after a request to purchase them was brought up at the board’s September meeting. Stack said at that meeting that the vans the district owns are safe but not as safe as a small bus. He said he, Transportation Director Danny Walker and Athletic Director Matt Porrovecchio started looking into the buses because they do not require a commercial driver's license. The district has been short on bus drivers, making it occasionally difficult to find transportation for student activities. Stack told the board in his Superintendent’s report this month that the school has received the buses and has already begun to use them.

Stack also told the board a few of the schools’ staff were able to attend a free crisis management training at the University of Montana. He said the training focused on crises that can happen across all schools, like shootings and weather-related events, but also more community specific crises like train derailments and wildfires. Stack said he has also been working with facilities management recently to replace some doors around campus that they were not able to get to over the summer.

High School Principal Mark Hansen said in his report to the board that the school’s professional learning community, or PLC, group attended a session in Houston and returned back with ideas to share with other staff at a meeting this week. He said teachers who previously wanted to go and couldn’t were able to attend this breakout session. He also said their teacher’s leaders met recently to discuss ways to support tier two students who are struggling in the classroom.

Athletic Director Matt Porrovecchio said school activities are in an “exciting transition time” as fall sports wind down and winter sports begin. Recently, the boys cross country team brought home the school’s first state championship title in 46 years, the girls soccer team made it to state semi-finals, and the football team won their semi-finals game against Eureka and will face Florence-Carlton in the state final next weekend.

Porrovecchio told the board during his report that speech and drama are starting up their season after taking a year off. He said they were not able to find a coach to be active in 2020. Now, the team is back with new coach Cosmo Schroeder and recently secured third place at a competition in Cut Bank. He said parent and coach meetings are kicking off for winter sports and practices start this week.

Elementary School Principal Brenda Clarke and Middle School Principal Charlie Applby were not present because they were holding parent-teacher conferences. The policy committee is holding a special meeting on December 1 ahead of their regularly scheduled board meeting on December 8.