Letters to the Editor

On May 4th, throughout the great state of Montana, voters will be submitting their decisions for school board members and other ballot issues. In Roundup we have six members of the community stepping up for the opportunity to serve the Roundup Public Schools elementary and high school districts, and to be a voice for the parents and taxpayers of the district.

I am running for the opportunity to ellicit changes within this District and for better transparency for the taxpaying citizens and parents of the students this District is charged with educating.

Since before the beginning of this global pandemic, the communication and transparency had been dismal and has continued to be limited, leaving parents and educators having to continually question what the plan would be when the schools went into remote learning, the re-opening plans at the beginning of the year, mask mandates, educational standards, and other questions concerning their childrens educational pathway.

The abysmal transparency was again apparent by this administration and current boards directive to the parents of the District in March, highlighting the lack of educators being held accountable to their employment when communication about changing the students schedule for the upcoming week, the District wrote - "The board and administration understand that this may cause some child care issues for families. However, the decision was made based on the number of staff members that were going to be gone for the State Basketball Tournament and the lack of availability of substitute teachers", indicating the responsibility was the communities to step up and become substitutes.

I hope whomever is elected, and those currently holding the office are held to the standards we expect of our youth and follow the guidelines and policies in place, allowing the parents of this District an opportunity to be heard and for better development of decisions affecting all who attend Roundup Public Schools.

Thank you for your time and consideration into this years election.

Gary Van Dyke