Keeping an open and honest dialogue between our school district and the community is very important to us and a necessity to ensure the continued success of Thompson Falls Schools.  The goal of our "Heard Around Town" page is to respond to misconceptions in the community about our school district.  If you have heard something about Thompson Falls Schools that you would like to clarify or need more information about, click HERE to submit and an answer will be provided below.  This page will be updated as often as possible with new submissions being added to the top.

Heard Around Town:  Has the District chosen a new interim Superintendent?

Response:  Yes, Mr. Michael Magone has been chosen as an interim Superintendent for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year.  Mr. Magone retired in 2017 after 20 years of Superintendent experience.  He has also worked in a wide variety of other areas in education.

Heard Around Town:  Did Superintendent Cain pass away?

Response:  It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we share with you the passing of our Superintendent William Cain.  We are working to ensure the day-to-day business of the district continues to run smoothly.

We have started the process of finding an interim Superintendent and will be working with the Montana School Board Association to find a full-time Superintendent.

The School Board will be holding a meeting Wednesday, February 12, 2020, at 6:00p.m.

Heard Around Town:  What's going on with the football field?

Response:  Over the summer we had to make some adjustments to our football stadium because of the dangerous condition of the recently removed bleachers.  The bleachers were structurally unsound and needed to be removed.  Replacement costs for new bleachers is very expensive, so we moved bleachers from the softball field over to the football field as a temporary replacement.  There will be bleachers at the football field.  There is electricity for the lights and outbuildings at the stadium as well.  We could not continue to allow spectators in the stands, at the high school field, in the condition the bleachers were in.  It presented an unnecessary safety risk to spectators.

Heard Around Town:  Is is true that there will be some new teachers this year?

Response:  Yes!  There will be a few new staff members at Thompson Falls Schools for the 2019-20 school year.  New staff include:  Amber Yates - Kindergarten, Kimberly Milnor - 2nd Grade, Kim Lakko - 5th-8th Grade Special Education, Neil Harbel - 5th - 12th Music, Jessica Lewis - 6th Grade, Jeri Walker - High School English, Bill McGuire - High School Shop and Scott McKenzie - Technology Coordinator

Heard Around Town:  Will some teachers be teaching different grade levels this year?

Response:  Yes!  Sierra Lilly will be teaching 3rd Grade, Cory Kump will be teaching 5th Grade, Jase Miller will be teaching 7th & 8th Grade Math and Danice Toyias will be teaching 7th & 8th Grade Social Studies.  Doree Thilmony will be teaching science full time, which will include some classes for Junior High students.

The tragedy in Florida rekindled the national debate on gun laws and school safety. In 2013, following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Thompson Falls School District’s School Board and administration established school safety as our number one goal and declared the environment our top priority. Some of the actions taken by the District since that time are shown below.  These are a few of the items made possible with input from Thompson Falls School District staff, law enforcement, emergency services, and professional state organizations since 2013.

• Added a School Resource Officer, S.R.O., made possible due to a joint effort between the District, Frisbie-Morbella foundation, and City.
• Formed school crisis teams for each campus that review safety procedures.
• Provide annual C.P.R./ First Aid training to staff each fall.
• Installed security cameras that cover every entry and exit to the school and the main corridors of the high school and junior high.
• Installed cameras in all buses.
• Updated emergency response bags in classrooms to include defensive spray.
• Additional lighting installed on each campus.
• Installed mirrors in key locations for increased field of view.
• Installed darkening shades in elementary classrooms.
• Numbered all classrooms and posted emergency evacuation plans.
• Reduced the number of unlocked doors in schools.
• Upgraded Student Information System (S.I.S.), to allow broad messaging through multiple platforms, (text, e-mail, and phone).
• Provided two-way radios to all staff members.
• Upgraded the phone system to allow emergency announcements in each room.

The safety and well-being of the people in our schools and community is everyone’s responsibility. This is our town, our school, and these are our challenges. School and community safety is a multifaceted issue that presents a variety of challenges including mental health, staff training, law enforcement, facility improvements, and emergency response personnel. Our greatest resource is the people in our school and community that work together to find solutions and be positive. We are thankful to all those who dedicate their time and talents to public service. Many opportunities exist in Thompson Falls including; ambulance, firefighters, and search and rescue. The schools are fortunate to have access to support personnel onsite including administrators, school counselors, CSCT therapists, school psychologist, and an S.R.O.

We encourage people to report potential concerns or suspicious behaviors to law enforcement and school officials. Information that is received is investigated in a professional manner. If you have an idea about school safety you would like to share please contact our school administration and/or S.R.O. The District will continue to work on school safety and providing a great environment for our students.