Class A ranks looking better

After several years of contraction, things could be looking up in the ranks of Class A schools in Montana. Columbia Falls High School activities director Troy Bowman told the school board Monday night that several districts could be joining the class A ranks in the next few years.

Class A will lose one school soon, however — Belgrade is expected to go AA in 2019, even with Bozeman building another new high school not far from Belgrade’s district boundary.

But Belgrade aside, Bigfork and Eureka could move back to class A in the next few years, Missoula Hellgate could drop to class A and East Helena is adding a high school, which is projected to be a class A school.

In the south, Anaconda could also move back to Class A and outside of Billings, the new Lockwood District is expected to be class A.

Bigfork, Eureka and Anaconda all have been class A previously, but dropped to Class B. Libby and Ronan joined the Class A ranks again this year, after being class B for a few years.

Bowman noted that the addition of class A schools is helpful to Columbia Falls because it cuts travel costs. It also makes for bigger and better tournaments.

Just a few years ago, the Class A ranks had shrunk dramatically in the Northwest Montana, as Libby, Bigfork and Ronan all dropped to Class B.

The Montana High School Association defines class A as a high school with 307 to 778 students, with a 10 percent leeway. Football, however, has its own class guidelines, with class A being a school with 351-900 students, with the same 10 percent rule.

Bowman also updated the board on two MHSA rule changes. One would allow eighth graders to play high school volleyball and basketball with permission from MHSA. They can also participate in cross country, golf, wrestling, track/field, tennis and swimming, with school board approval.

In effect, it gives some student athletes five years of eligibility.

In other school board news:

- The board approved a contract with Progressive Roofing to replace the roof on the junior high. Done in two phases, the work will be done this summer and next. The first phase will cost about $134,700, the second phase about $224,000. The school will use its building reserve fund over the next three years to pay for the work.