News briefs, Feb. 26

Range water rights, MVA, Polson school budget

Progress made on range water rights

NINEPIPES — Last Thursday, the State of Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Fish and Wildlife Departments reached an agreement on the draft of water rights for the National Bison Range. The draft recognized the water the range uses now, and quantified those rights and will now be released for a final round of public review and comment.

The Water Rights Compact Commission was created in 1979, and has been working extensively on the Bison range compact for the past six months.

“The Bison range has legal rights to the water they need,” said Compact Commission attorney Jay Weiner. “This won’t affect anyone off the Bison range.”

The Senate Bill 426 will have a few technical amendments, Weiner said. The bill passed out of the Senate Natural Resources Committee on Feb. 21, as amended and was scheduled for second reading on Tuesday. After the bill’s potential passage in the Senate, the House will vote on it, then it goes to the Department of Justice and Interior, then the State Water Court.

-Reporter Erin Scott

 Mission school board reports budget is online

ST. IGNATIUS — A healthy, on track budget for the remainder of the 2009 school year was reported at the St. Ignatius School District Board of Trustees meeting on the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 17.

“Next year’s budget will be tight, but we are not looking at cutting any personnel at this time,” superintendent Gerry Nolan said.

The board also approved the second reading of a revision to district policy 3310, dealing with language in the “Gun Free Schools” section. The revision struck from the language “Or an object that can reasonably be considered, or looks like, a firearm” will result in expulsion for a definite period of time of at least one calendar year. The language still holds true to its purpose to punish any student who “uses, possesses, controls, or transfers a firearm ‘as defined by federal law’” on school grounds.

Superintendent Nolan said the move for policy revision came in response to a couple of students who brought BB air guns on school grounds this year. Nolan explained that in one instance the airsoft gun was part of a student’s costume and in the other circumstance the child who brought the BB gun just told another student about it and never took it out of their backpack at school.

Principals from district’s schools also gave reports after returning from recently attending a “Love and Logic” conference. Nolan added that the conference taught a different approach to student behavior management that the district will be integrating into its schools.

In other business the board set the date and time for graduation this year for Sunday, May 31 at 2 p.m. The board also accepted the 2009-10 calendar option for next year’s schedule, which will include a district-wide Spring Break from March 29 through April 2. Nolan added that the new schedule marked the first time the district will have a Spring Break in years.

- Reporter Ty Hampton

MVA continues fundraiser efforts

POLSON — During its February meeting, the Mission Valley Aquatics board announced that it has received two more donations in its quest to raise more than $8 million dollars for an area indoor pool facility.

A $1,757 George W. Taber Foundation Award and a $735 Marselius and Verna Rolfson Charitable Trust Award were added to the money raised. Both awards were presented through First Interstate Bank.

Board member Tana Seeley said the group has nearly 33 percent of the way to its goal.

At the meeting, the group also discussed the planned visit from a Murdock Foundation representative, who will determine if the project is serious and legitimate, Seeley said.

While MVA has jumped the hurdle of gaining the foundation’s interest, it is only eligible for the $500,000 grant if 40 percent of the total project cost is raised. The group needs to raise $650,000 by the visitation date of March 16 to be at that mark.

 If the Murdock member approves the project after the visit, MVA’s application must still be presented to a Murdock board.

The board also reviewed materials for a fundraising campaign and discussed the audit process so it could apply for further grants.

The next MVA meeting is at 5 p.m. on Monday, March 23 at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Polson.

-Reporter Jenna Cederberg

Polson district budgeting process

POLSON — The Polson School District has started the process of developing their budget for the 2009-10 school year. By state law, the Polson School Board must approve the budget no later than Aug. 15. In all Montana public school districts, the accounting system for the school budget is organized on a fund basis. Each fund must be accounted for separately and all funds are kept apart. These funds are either a budgeted fund or a non-budgeted fund. Budgeted funds require an officially adopted budget by the board of trustees. Most of the budgeted funds are restricted for specific purposes as defined by state regulations.  A non-budgeted fund does not require an adopted budget; most are designated for specific uses. Monies flow into these funds from various sources, which include federal, state, county, local property tax, fees, private grants and grants from state and federal government.

The Polson School District has nine budgeted funds: the General Fund, Transportation Fund, Bus Depreciation Fund, Tuition Fund, Retirement Fund, Adult Education Fund, Technology Fund, Flex Fund and Debt Service Fund. The District also has six non-budgeted funds: School Food Services Fund, Impact Aid Fund, Traffic Education Fund, Extracurricular Fund, Endowment Fund and the Miscellaneous Fund.

The budgeting process is further complicated by the fact that Polson School District is actually two districts, the Elementary District for kindergarten through eighth grades, and the High School District for ninth through twelfth grades. All of the funds, both budgeted and non-budgeted are separately maintained for each district.

To learn more about the ongoing budget process, or to see an explanation of each of the funds, please visit the Polson School District Budget Committee’s web page at http://www.polson.k12.mt.us/District23/greetings/SchoolBoard/BudgetCommittee/BudgetCommittee.html.

-Courtesy of Marsha Anson, Polson School District