Polson schools host public meetings about grade realignment
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Polson Schools Superintendent Mike Cutler announced during a July 24 public forum that he will recommend to school board trustees a realignment of grades for the 2025-26 school year. Specifically, Cutler will recommend moving fifth grade down from the middle school to Linderman and second grade from Linderman to Cherry Valley. To make room for the addition of second grade to Cherry Valley Elementary (which currently houses K-1 and pre-k classrooms) Cutler will simultaneously recommend a building addition of three new classrooms to the west wing of the current school building. A modular building currently located west of the school would be moved to make room for the new classrooms. The money to add classrooms, Cutler said, would come from investment earnings from current bonds. There’s a three-year timeframe, he noted, in which bond money is required to be used.
“If we don’t do this now, we will never be able to do this,” he said. “It’s now or never.”
Cutler reported that construction projects currently underway at Linderman and Cherry Valley schools, are going well and ahead of schedule. The addition of three more classrooms to Cherry Valley, he noted, wouldn’t affect any of the construction currently underway.
Grade realignment is something Cutler told those attending that he’s worked for since he started the job and would bring Polson schools into standard practice. “Grouping grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-8 is basically the standard and how curriculums are aligned,” he said.
Cherry Valley teachers in attendance expressed concerns about growing class sizes and how it impacts student learning. “It’s not that teachers just want smaller classes,” Cherry Valley teacher Sarah Takacs said. “We want what’s best for kids.”
Cutler said he also wants what’s best for kids but has to balance his decisions based on what’s best for the district as a whole. The building budget, he added, is different from the school district’s general fund. “We can’t take money from buildings to give to teachers,” he said.
Regarding moving second grade to Cherry Valley, Cutler said, “We will have to add some staff.”
Cherry Valley teacher Sarah Takacs noted that having the lunchroom and gymnasium in the same place impacted schedules as the gym has limited availability due to its dual usage. She asked if another gym – that could also be of use to the community –instead of three new classrooms, would be a better use of funds. Cutler responded that he didn’t think so.
Several parents in attendance shared that they were in favor of the realignment as it made more sense for fifth graders to be grouped with with lower grades rather than put into a school with eighth graders. By show of hands, a majority of those attending were in favor of grade realignment while a handful were not.
When asked what would become of the vacant fifth grade wing once fifth grade is moved to Linderman, Cutler said the district didn’t have a plan yet for the empty classrooms.
As the meeting wrapped up, one attendee noted that funding for schools has gone the wrong direction and that the next legislative session is extremely important for education funding. He encouraged all to speak to their local legislators about the issue.
Another public forum regarding grade realignment will be held Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. in the Polson High School auditorium. Anyone who has comments or questions about realignment is encouraged to attend. The Polson School District board meeting at which Cutler plans to present his recommendation will also be in the PHS auditorium on Aug. 19 at 7 p.m.
