Kindergarten numbers exceed expectations again

Havre Daily News/Nikki Carlson

Tamara Lotton fills out paperwork during a meet-and-greet for her 5-year-old daughter Skyler Lotton, second from left, to attend kindergarten at Highland Park Early Primary School while Madyson Lotton, 7, left, and Braylee Lotton, 15 months, watch in Michelle Courchene's class.

Last week, the Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees and administrative staff discussed what would need to be done with the 175 students that had been enrolled for kindergarten classes at Highland Park this year, more than 60 beyond what they had anticipated.

While plans were put in place to handle the extra students, the district was waiting to see how many showed up at the first day of school today. After attendance was taken this morning, the school found that 177 of the 186 total enrolled kindergarteners came in today. The other nine are absent today.

With more students showing up than were considered enrolled early last week, it appears the district may have to change the title of the "potential kindergarten teacher" job opening advertised on their website, havre.k12.mt.us, to something more concrete.

The opening was posted on the site on Aug. 23 and will close Tuesday. It lists the positions start date as Sept. 12, two weeks from today.

Until then, the district has a few other changes to make to accomodate the large class, the largest elementary class Superintendent Andy Carlson said he has seen in the 12 years he has worked in the district.

District Clerk Mike Arnold checked the past 20 years of enrollment numbers, and didn't come across an elementary class this large.

One of the changes that Carlson described for the trustees last Tuesday was to move the school's computer lab into an old locker room and repurpose the lab as an additional kindergarten classroom.