School safety tops school board discussion

SWAN VALLEY - The Swan Valley Elementary School Board discussed issues of school safety, facility maintenance and the road sign at their board meeting Wednesday, May 22.

In terms of school safety, the board considered possible renovations to the school to create a single portal entrance near the school’s office. According to Board Chair John Mercer, the board has discussed a single portal entrance for a few years but nothing has materialized. The board motioned to create a committee of board members and elementary staff to begin conceptualizing the project.

“If it uses up all of our maintenance funds to do this then we might have to rethink it,” said Mercer. “We’ll have to look at it in conjunction with some of these other projects and figure out what the priorities are.”

Many districts in Montana are renovating schools to create a single portal entrance under supervision in order to increase school security.

There were no new designs for the road sign for the board to consider at this meeting. The board acknowledged the community’s concerns while meeting their objective to highlight the school and its students.

Following brief discussions about the facility maintenance issues of replacing the boiler and water heater and the possible school sign on Highway 83, the board agreed that they needed more information on the individual projects in order to determine how to proceed. No decision was made and the items will remain on the agenda for future discussion.

The next school board meeting is scheduled for June 11 at 7 p.m. at the Swan Valley School.