Ellen Thompson
Havre Daily News
ethompson@havredailynews.com
Havre Public Schools on Tuesday denied three requests to spend state and county dollars to transport three Havre residents to schools in other districts.
The vote was in keeping with the school board's stance that the county and state, which split transportation costs, should not pay more when a family chooses a school outside its home district.
One of the three requests was for a bus route to carry a student from the Havre high school district to North Star High School in Rudyard.
"It's a tough precedent to set, across the board, and it's a waste of money," board member Joe Marino said.
In the past few years, the school board has repeatedly decided not to authorize reimbursement for routes to other schools. In some cases, those routes are reimbursed anyway, if they are approved by the Hill County Transportation Committee. In those cases, the students are meeting the bus outside the Havre district.
One such case occured earlier this year.
In July, the Havre school board voted against reimbursement for a North Star route that meets Havre students at the Big Sandy Creek bridge on U.S. Highway 2 west of town. It transports Havre elementary students with the permission of the Cottonwood elementary district, where the bridge is located, and was approved by the Hill County Transportation Committee.
Last year, the school board voted to deny KG, now incorporated into the North Star district, reimbursement for picking up one of its students. That vote also came after the County Transportation Committee had approved the route and its funding.
The other two requests denied Tuesday were from a family asking the board to allow for mileage reimbursement for a parent to drive two children from Havre to Davey School.
It was the first such request made of HPS, Havre Superintendent Kirk Miller told the board, though he said similar requests have probably been made elsewhere in the state.
Board member Norm Procter wanted to know if there was ambiguity in the law that encouraged the families to make their requests.
Miller said there is.
"There's such a variety of opinions on a number of matters," Miller said.
