Class C move not in immediate future

The Montana High School Association Executive Board will meet next month and among the items on their agenda could be a vote to lower the enrollment number for Class B/C Schools across the state.

At their regular board meeting last week, the Whitehall School Board of Trustees heard an update from Superintendent John Sullivan about the possible change.

Sullivan said he has heard the proposed number for Class B/C is 107 students. This would be a change from the current number of 119. Sullivan said schools below 107 would be in Class C, and those above in Class B. As of Monday afternoon, Whitehall High School had an enrollment of 122 students.

Sullivan said according to the enrollment projections, they will have more than 107 students in the high school, keeping Whitehall as Class B School for a number of years.

“So for us to discuss Class C right now would be a moot point,” Sullivan said.

A possible change in Class C eight-man football could also be discussed at the MHSA meeting.

Sullivan said he is also hearing that the enrollment numbers for eight-man football numbers could move to 75 to 130 students.

“The only issue pending for us is if they change eight-main football enrollment numbers, thus we could qualify to play eight-man football if this enrollment number goes to 130; but we could also continue to play in the current 11-man football league also,” he said.

Sullivan added a school could also petition to play in another classification. He said Butte Central has done this for years.

“They have a Class B enrollment and have always been a Class A school,” he said.

ELECTRONIC SIGN

In the past few months, Sullivan and the board have discussed a possible new LED sign to replace the current school sign near the Town Pump on Whitehall Street.

Sullivan said there has been no progress with the Montana Department of Transportation and they have denied the school permission to put in an electronic sign that would display school information, for a number of different reasons. In other business at the meeting, the board approved the hiring of Malcolm Neil as a high school girl’s assistant basketball coach, and Brennan Hayes at he the Middle School boy’s basketball coach.