New Arlee superintendent $2 million short

By Karen Peterson

Leader Staff

ARLEE — John Miller is the new superintendent of the Arlee school district and though he is thrilled about his new position, the schools' funding issues have him scratching his head. The big problem is coming close to $2 million short for the new school building project.

"We were supposed to be excavating in June of this year but it's August now and we are still scratching our heads. I'm not sure where we are going to get the money," Miller said.

"The bids came in at $1.7 million over what we bonded. How do you come up with almost $2 million dollars? That is the big question."

Currently, without further resources, the project is at stand still. The building plans were completed earlier this year and they include a new elementary wing and a gym. The district then held and passed a bond election to fund the project but recently the bids for the construction work came in and they were much higher than anticipated.

"We don't want to stop here and forfeit the bonds. We just have to figure this out, and so much work has already gone into the planning. And, the school needs this building project and the community needs it, too," he said.

Miller is trying everything he can to raise the extra two million including petitioning the state government.

"We could ask the taxpayers for more money but we don't want to have to do that. We also don't want to have to go into the school's reserves. I have asked Senator Max Baucus for special appropriations to help fund the project. I'm hoping we can get the community together and see what we can come up with," he said.

Miller has 25 years of experience in education and he is leaning on that knowledge to help him work through the school's budget issues.

"I graduated from the University of Montana in '83 with degrees in history, political science and education. I went on to teach for a few years. I got into teaching because I loved coaching. Right out of high school I started coaching but I knew I couldn't make a living coaching, so I became a teacher. And I love the kids. I coached until I became an administrator," he said.

Two years after college, Miller and his wife, Lisa, headed for Alaska to teach.

"I spent 16 years in Mat-Su, Alaska were I was a principal," he said.

After spending so many years away, Miller still called Montana home. So, John and Lisa came back but this time with three children, two are in college.

"I retired from the school system in Alaska and we moved back home. I'm really looking forward to the Griz games here, too," he said. "So, my retirement wasn't permanent."

Back in Montana, John Miller took a job as the superintendent at Lone Rock in Stevensville and Lisa Miller took a position as the principal of the Arlee Elementary School.

"That turned out to 'not' to be a good match at Lone Rock. But Lisa loved her job. So when Gordon [Friberg] retired [as the Arlee superintendent] I applied. I didn't expect him to retire, it was sudden. But this was a great match for me. This is like a dream come true, to create an environment we [my wife and I] both believe in," he said. "And the benefit of working together is that we can commute from Missoula together. We'd like to move here someday, I love this area."

Miller is in the process of getting to know the staff and the students as they start a new school year and he hopes that he can bring a positive presence to the district.

"I want to build a trusting environment where people love to work, a warm friendly environment. We have a lot of good things going here. It was a tough year, last year, with a lot of controversy but this is a different year and we want to start building a positive environment," he said. "I'm committed for the long haul."