Boulder Elementary School board members didn’t want it to be true. At their Feb. 6 meeting, several members asked Superintendent/Principal Jeff Elliott if he was certain about resigning.
Unfortunately for the trustees, Elliott didn’t take back his letter, and, despite tears being shed, his resignation was approved, effective July 1.
“Sorry we had you for such a short time,” said Boulder Elementary Board Chair Carrie Harris.
Elliott, a Boulder native, started as superintendent/principal in July of 2021. He came back to the area after 32 years in education, including administrative roles at Fergus High School in Lewistown and at Three Forks. He came home to be closer to his parents. His father, Hank, was a physical education teacher and vice principal at Jefferson High School. Elliott’s mother, Shirley, was a third grade teacher at Boulder Elementary.
Elliott remembers those days well, and he cherishes those memories. Growing up in Boulder, Elliott attended Boulder Elementary and graduated from Jefferson High School in 1984. During his time at JHS he was a standout on the basketball court, a passion that has stayed with him. After graduating from University of Montana-Western in 1989 with an elementary education degree, Elliott went on to teach at Belgrade Middle School for 20 years, where he coached the basketball team and led them to two state championships.
Leaving Boulder Elementary is not an easy decision, Elliott said, but right now he said he needs to prioritize his family and be there for his parents.
“They took care of me for 55 years, so it’s probably OK for me to take care of them now,” Elliott said at the Feb. 6 board meeting, “so I need to do that…I need to be available to them.”
Resigning has been on Elliott’s mind, he said, and after his aunt died over the holiday season he began to consider it more seriously. Still, Elliott said it’s bittersweet leaving his position at Boulder Elementary, as it’s a job he said he’s enjoyed thoroughly. It’s a role he’s taken seriously and has strived to improve the school as best he could.
“I think you’ve done an amazing job,” Boulder Elementary Board Vice Chair Matt Strozewski said at the meeting.
“Like I told my staff, this is a special place for me and always will be,” Elliott said. “It was special for my mom and it will always be special for me.”
The children at the school, Elliott added, are also very special, and he said he will miss being around them.
Elliott said the job of principal/superintendent at Boulder Elementary is a “really important one” and it takes someone who can commit fully to all it requires. At this time, Elliott said he can’t give it everything it demands.
Now that Elliott’s resignation has been approved, Harris said the board is moving forward with posting the job. Details regarding how many places – and where – to post the job are still being determined.
There’s a lot of time between now and the end of the school year, and, although board members articulated they’d like to see him change his mind, they accept his choice.
Although he doesn’t imagine he’d rescind his resignation, Elliott assured the board he’d still be around.
“I might sub,” he told the trustees. “Who knows?”
