Ronan discusses move to B classification
RONAN - Several years of seesaw rates of enrollment has the Ronan Board of Education once again considering its classification and districting.
The school, which currently competes in Class A, will be eligible to drop down to Class B, high school principal Tom Stack and activities director Lucky Larson said during Monday's monthly trustee's meeting. Classification is based on enrollment numbers, set by the Montana High School Association, and Ronan High School will qualify for Class B, a level that requires between 120 and 339 enrolled students for the 2010-2011 school year. That number could change when the MHSA has a meeting next week, Stack said, but likely won't effect Ronan's placement.
Article X of the MHSA By-Laws states "Any school that exceeds the maximum enrollment levels by no more than ten percent (10%) may remain at the lower classification for two years."
The enrollment numbers are taken by the state Office of Public Instruction and are based on the average counts taken this semester and the previous three, Stack said. From research on enrollment numbers, Stack said the reclassification is inevitable but the board will ultimately have a say in whether they move or not.
"This is going to happen, we are going to be below," he said. "[MHSA] will send a letter saying ‘you will go to Class B' and we need to have an answer, yay or nay, to them by November 22."
That answer could be complicated. Research by Stack and Larson has delved into what, exactly, a move to Class B would mean. Larson compared travel times and mileage to different schools in Northwestern A, 6B and 7B, noting that some of the schools currently classified as B could end of having a change of class themselves, most likely to C. During a coaches meeting, Larson said coaches, including speech and drama, voted 10-2 in favor of Class B.
Stack said the sport most affected by the change would be golf. Class B and C schools participate in the sport during the spring, meaning the change, which would be effective during the 2011-2012 school year, would prevent athletes from playing until spring 2012. Golf coach Rupe Paulson voted against the change.
But fluctuating enrollment numbers may be the biggest issue for those against the move. Stack said Ronan had an average of 340.5 students over the four semesters two years ago, meaning the school entered Class A by a margin of 1.5 students. And cross country coach Gale Decker said the district has been losing 32 percent of students from their freshman to senior years.
"That doesn't make a whole lot of sense, making a two year move," Decker said.
He did note that compared to the 1990s, enrollment numbers are down, mainly due to job losses in the Mission Valley.
"I think we've bottomed out, but I don't think we're going to pull out for awhile," he said.
Indian Education Coordinator Leslie Caye said students enrolled at the Salish Kootenai College can impact numbers at the local public schools.
"Lots of elementary and middle school kids don't matriculate to high school because their parents go back to their home reservations or leave the area after completing a two or three year program," he said.
Most school board trustees seemed concerned about the community's thoughts on the change. Larson and Stack have scheduled two-hour public meetings on the issue for Oct. 25 and 28 at the middle school's Performing Arts Center.
"I think it's very vital to get that public feedback," board chair Chris Lynch said.
Trustee Tom Anderson noted that parents may be vocal because they "are following their kids wherever they go" for extracurricular events. Trustee Carmel Couture asked Larson to poll the students to get a feeling on their sentiments. She said the results of that could have a major impact on her decision.
Public meetings will take place on Oct. 25 and 28 to discuss the issue, while the board preliminarily plans to take action on the issue during the Monday, Nov. 8 board meeting.