Pass the mill levyOur views

Pass the mill levy

Our views

Passing Tuesday's Havre Public Schools mill levy is necessary if we want to continue the quality of education that Havre has come to expect. The Havre school board trustees have the thankless job of trying to maintain high education standards for our kids while the state argues about a fair way to fund education for all our students.

We believe the board and district have been frugal and wise in proposing funding increases. Conscious of the economic climate in Havre, they have looked at innovative ways to cut costs without sacrificing quality. Nobody likes change, but the school district made tough choices that were necessary to reduce costs. Most notably was the restructuring of the elementary schools, the elimination of neighborhood schools and the closing of Devlin School. But you can only trim so much before you start hurting the education provided to area kids.

Havre schools are among the best in the state and nation, but rather than stand pat, the district is continually looking for ways to improve education of our youth. Adding two teachers to reduce class size is another step in the process.

Havre is blessed with good teachers, administrators, school board members and residents who know the value of investing in education. The increase the school district has asked from homeowners is a small amount that will go a long way to continue the quality education Havre kids receive.

We encourage everyone to get out and vote Tuesday, and give the schools the funding to do their job.