Education
Montana students press Regents, in different directions, on vaccination mandate
Fees account for a large portion of the cost of college, and Montana students want more work done on a policy that deals with those dollars. With a push from the students, the Montana Board of Regents postponed action Friday on an agenda item to clarify the definition of “student-driven fees” in its policy. Regent […]
Board of Public Ed member to OPI: ‘Focus … on retention’
In the wake of significant turnover at the Montana Office of Public Instruction, members of the Board of Public Education quizzed the deputy superintendent this week on staff openings, and at least one recommended the agency focus on retaining employees. “There’s a lot to be said for looking into job satisfaction and retention,” said board […]
Montana Board of Regents celebrate historic $7M donation, hear enrollment bright spots
Montana is ahead of the game with at least one metric — undergraduate enrollment dropped 3.2 percent nationally during the last year, but in the Treasure State, it’s up 4.9 percent by headcount, according to a report Thursday to the Montana Board of Regents. “We’re bucking the trend on undergraduate enrollment because of a healthy […]
Salaries, naming donations, enrollment on tap for Montana Board of Regents
The roughly $1 million in salaries paid to three top public higher education officials in Montana is on the Board of Regents’ agenda this week — but not for increases at this time. If approved, Commissioner Clayton Christian, Montana State University President Waded Cruzado, and University of Montana President Seth Bodnar each will earn a […]
University of Montana announces new scholarships for students with $7.5M donation
Students whose families earn too much to qualify for federal aid but still can’t afford college can attend the University of Montana with support from a new $7.5 million donation from Terry and Patt Payne, the campus announced Wednesday. UM estimated as many as 300 Montana students will qualify for the Payne Family Impact Scholarship, […]
UM, school board distance themselves from doctor accused of spreading COVID-19 misinformation
A medical doctor affiliated with the University of Montana’s physician training program and who has been given “time-outs” on Facebook for spreading misinformation as well as calling for Dr. Anthony Fauci to be “executed for the crimes he has committed on humanity” will continue to teach through the university. Dr. Justin Buls, the Kalispell site […]
State moves to dismiss challenge to bill restricting campus organizing
The state of Montana is moving to dismiss a federal court challenge to a law passed this year limiting on-campus political organizing in part due to a printing error in the original complaint, according to legal filings last week. The office of Attorney General Austin Knudsen, which represents the Montana Secretary of State and Commissioner […]
Superintendent Arntzen condemns comment to ‘shoot’ as egregious
Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen condemned Wednesday “any statements or actions of violence” as “egregious” following a comment made at a meeting in Missoula to “shoot” school superintendents. Lawyer Quentin Rhoades, who had responded to a question about how to deal with superintendents with a grin and, “shoot ‘em?” said he had been joking […]
Source: Appeal committee finds Jacob Elder retaliated
Defeated mayoral candidate Jacob Elder retaliated against a University of Montana complainant for participating in a Title IX investigation against him, according to a source familiar with the findings by an appeal committee on campus. Elder, a student at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law, did not respond to a request for comment or […]
Superintendent Arntzen urges parents to voice concerns with public education
With support from Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen, participants at a Parental Rights in Education Action meeting Monday vowed to take back school board seats in Missoula and reshape public education. “This is a very magical year in Missoula County Public Schools,” said Mike Gehl, a current board trustee who will run for election […]
UM professor: Discrimination allegation deemed ‘non-workplace issue’
A University of Montana professor said this week he completed a sensitivity training course to learn how to combat discrimination in response to questions about communication in which he used the “n” word — in messages intended to be private. “I learned a lot,” said Clayton Looney, the Poe Family Distinguished Faculty Fellow in the […]
U.S. Attorney General defends FBI probe of threats against school board members
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans grilled Attorney General Merrick Garland for more than four hours on Wednesday about a Justice Department investigation into threats made to local school board members in multiple states. Garland at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing declined to revoke a memo he wrote asking the FBI to meet with local law enforcement to […]