Board Focuses on Swan Valley Regional Plan's Impact on School

SWAN VALLEY - The Swan Valley Elementary School (SVE) board discussed the Swan Valley Regional Plan (SVRP) at their monthly meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 9. They addressed how the SVRP will impact the school. They considered how the board will respond to the SVRP committee with comments on the school’s needs, growth and future along with other improvements to the SVRP before the public comment meeting March 2.

The SVE board members agreed with board chairperson John Mercer that the SVRP Committee did a phenomenal job addressing the protection of scenic values and wildlife but there was needed improvement to the community aspect of the plan.

Chairperson Mercer said he thought the population piece of the SVRP draft was critical to the school. He quoted the plan which said that there has been a 10 percent decline in population from 2000 to 2010, with the median age going from 55 to 63 years of age and families with children declined by 37 percent.

“We have to voice our concern about how the number of young people with families which is our [school’s] family or constituency has declined,” said Mercer.

Mercer said that the SVRP needs to answer the questions:

• What kind of community do the residents want to plan for?

• Do they want a balanced economy that includes retirees, seasonal residents and young people with families?

• How does the community attract young families?

“How do we tell [the SVRP committee] that it is important to have children in the Swan Valley? A community without children has no future because children are the future,” said Mercer.

Board member Ron Ream agreed with board member Charity Townsend when she said, “We need to have job growth and housing if we want to continue with the school.”

Mercer quoted the first planning premise: “The residents, business people and property owners of the Upper Swan Valley are an integral part of the landscape and ecosystem.” He said that premise was not addressed or talked about in any meaningful way within the SVRP text. He said he found nothing about the history, culture or values of the valley that would tell what kind of community residents want.

Mercer said, “The Swan Valley [in the beginning] was homesteaded. Many people [living here] now have home-based businesses. Our best chance at economic growth is small home-based businesses. We need to be more friendly to small sustainable businesses, not some large industry.”

Townsend said that right now other jobs in the area are recreational and services like cleaning and maintaining seasonal residences.

“We need slow and steady growth of families that have children. Likelihood of all children staying is low but some will find their niche,” said Mercer.

The board planned to meet again to draft a letter about the SVRP. Mercer said that the board needed to write a letter that contains comments about the plan, its goals, policies and actions that impact the school in a way that is useful to the SVRP committee.

In other business, supervising teacher Susan Bracha reported that on Feb. 9 the safety committee, made up of Bracha, Superintendent Chris Stout and aide Jamie Matthew, met with Missoula County Sheriff’s Sergeant Bob Parcell. They walked through the school and Sergeant Parcell recommended some economically feasible improvements to the school’s security.

Included are suggestions from board members and attendees present at the board meeting;

• Intercom system between the two buildings for staff to communicate in case of an emergency.

• Solid core entrance door s to the classrooms.

• A safe room.

• Stronger , tamper-proof locks.

• Bullet-proof windows.

• Carbon dioxide fire extinguishers, bear spray, bug spray that is easily located near the door to disable a perpetrator coming through the door.

• Camera system and monitor to view activity at the outside doors.

• Buzzer system to allow visitors entrance to the building.

• Siren on the school that would alert members of the community.

• Enclose the walkway to the main entrance so there would be only one entrance that would need monitoring.

• Students practice exiting windows safely.

• When there is advanced warning, it is best to get out and meet at a predetermined meeting place.

The school board members agreed to look into funding for improving the school’s security.

The next school board meeting will be held at SVE on Tuesday, March 8 at 7 p.m.