Superintendent/Principal Jeff Elliott is continually encouraged by the growth he’s seeing at Boulder Elementary, despite the challenges that come with it.
According to Boulder Elementary Business Manager/Clerk Britton Mann, Boulder Elementary hasn’t seen such growth in decades. Ten years ago, Boulder Elementary had 126 students. Five years ago, there were 132 students, and enrollment has gone up consistently since.
For the 2022-23 school year, Boulder Elementary has 218 students, which Elliott said is hard to believe considering the school hadn’t had more than 200 students in decades.
This being the case, Elliott is considering a bond issue for two add-on classrooms that would not require an extensive renovation. This is very preliminary, he said, and would likely be three years out at a minimum to determine the need. If enrollment continues to rise, Elliott believes this would be a wise choice.
“Facility-wise we don’t have any room to grow,” he said. “We don’t have any extra rooms right now. If our numbers continue to climb we may have to look into a bond issue for two extra rooms to provide some relief for the kids.”
According to Mann, this would be the first time Boulder Elementary School has asked taxpayers for additional funding since 2001, when
the gym/kitchen was built. The bond was refinanced in 2011, lowering taxes, and was completely paid off in June of 2021.
“Our current and past boards have always been fiscally responsible when it comes to our taxpayers,” said Mann. “This includes spending down our Metal Mines Funds – one-time monies received from Montana Tunnels when it was operational.”
Mann said the Boulder Elementary board “tries everything possible before even thinking about going out to taxpayers for additional funding.”
At this time there is not an anticipated dollar amount for any proposed mill levy.
Elliott said the ultimate goal for the bond issue would be to maintain small classroom sizes for the primary grades, making it possible to split kindergarten and first grade into two classrooms each, the grades that have seen the most growth.
“Currently first grade has 25 students and kindergarten has 23,” Elliott said, adding that the Kinder-cubs early childhood program has 20 students, so making classrooms smaller would immediately benefit up-and-coming students, as well.
The second grade classes have already split into two rooms, Elliott said, a shuffle that has generated positive academic results, particularly when it comes to reading ability and comprehension.
“These students were forced to go half-time as kindergartners due to COVID, and we’ve seen some learning loss with them,” Elliott said. “We wanted to really focus on getting these kids back up and running with reading and math in particular. It’s paying dividends right now because these kiddos are doing super good.”
The two second grade classrooms have 10 students and 11 students, respectively, which Elliott said has given students an opportunity to receive more individual attention, and he believes that’s played a large part in the progress.
Making plans to handle growth is a good problem to have, Elliott said. Mann agreed, adding she doesn’t expect enrollment to decrease any time soon.
“Boulder is between two larger cities in Montana, and some families prefer the small town feel,” she said.
Elliott said there is growth from a wide variety of areas, be it Helena and Butte or even Colorado and California. With this growth, there are certainly perks, Elliott said, as Boulder Elementary is eligible for a budget amendment that will help out the general fund.
“The budget amendment doesn’t help to answer all the issues we have, but we’re getting there,” Elliott said. “
Elliott said Boulder Elementary has an extremely dedicated staff and board who are good at what they do, and the future looks bright. A rise in enrollment is a blessing, he said, and, although he doesn’t want to put a burden on taxpayers, he wants to maintain the best quality education possible.
“We owe it to our kids,” he said.
