The Lone Rock School over the last three school years has grown with new families moving into the school district. Three years ago the district had 170 students in grades K-8. Currently, we have 260 students in grades K-8. Our district has been able to rely upon Federal ESSER dollars to help with additional student needs over the last 3 years. Our federal funding will no longer be available in the 2023-2024 school year. As a result, the district needs an increase in the general fund to keep current programs and personnel in place. The school district navigated the COVID-19 pandemic only missing one school day in the last 3 years and we were able to hire 5 additional teachers (staff) to respond to the need of smaller class sizes. Our students have not missed a beat and have been able to stay on par and above with their counterparts in neighboring school districts. The school district wants to continue to offer the same services to all students and be an employer of choice where we retain employees.
Currently, our starting teacher salary ranks the lowest in the state of Montana at $27,185. With the current inflation of nearly 8% we need to be able to recruit and retain teachers to continue to offer the same programming into the future. As a result, a portion of the additional funding will go toward increasing teachers salaries to become more competitive with other area schools in the Bitterroot Valley. Increases in maintenance costs have been realized over the last 3 years to ensure that our physical plant is safe for students. A portion of the additional funding will be used to help update textbooks, supplies, and curriculum materials for students, and access to educational technology. We have offered a wonderful education to area students since 1885 and we continue to offer families a small school atmosphere with dedicated employees that want the best for each student. The additional funding will bring the Lone Rock School back to being a competitive school district offering students the very best education. The election will be a mail ballot election and will be mailed out at the end of April with an election day of Tuesday May 2, 2023.
The School District will have the following dates available to ask questions about the upcoming mill levy in the MS Library from 6:00-7:00pm:
March 14th, March 28th, April 13th, April 25th
Sincerely,
Robert DoBell, Ed.D.
District Superintendent/Principal
1112 Three Mile Creek Rd.
Stevensville, MT 59870
406-777-3314 ext.201