After making an offer to an applicant for Seeley Lake Elementary School’s principal and superintendent position, the school board had to reassess after the applicant declined the job.
Stetson Spooner, current athletic director at the Mullan School District in Idaho, was the first candidate the school board offered the position to, and he declined due to some personal concerns about moving to Seeley Lake, School Board Chair Doc Welter said. Welter said Spooner didn’t bring up housing as a concern for the move, but did request a larger salary than what was offered, which was the same salary that the current superintendent makes.
Seeley Lake Elementary School’s current superintendent has been a school administrator for six years, Wetler said, and Spooner didn’t have any official administrative experience.
The board decided to offer the job to Christina Hartmann, kindergarten through fifth grade principal in the Townsend School District, who accepted the job, according to Seeley Lake Elementary School’s attorney. Since it was already on the agenda for the school board’s April 22 meeting, the board was able to approve Hartmann’s hiring and her contract.
Welter said Hartmann has a great track record of successful administrative experience and most recently helped Townsend Public Schools transition to a four-day school week this school year.
“We’re happy with how things turned out,” Welter said.
In an in-person interview with the school board on April 18, Hartmann described developing a pacing schedule for teachers as they moved into the four-day school week, which helped them stay on track with the curriculum over four instead of five days.
To address child care concerns on Fridays, Hartmann said she used the 21st Century Grant — which provides money for learning opportunities outside of school hours — to create a fifth day program. This allowed any student, kindergarten through twelfth grade, to come to school in Townsend before and after school to get tutoring assistance or participate in activities like pottery, guitar or skiing.
Hartmann said the four-day school week allowed Townsend Public Schools to offer more opportunities for students, but brought up a couple of what she called “minor cons.”
On weeks when there was a Monday holiday, like Presidents’ Day, and the school switched to a Tuesday through Friday school week instead of Monday through Thursday, the schools saw lower attendance on that Friday as parents started to use Fridays for different appointments for their kids, Hartmann said. Additionally, some of the schools’ special education students, who Hartmann said are very routine-oriented, were thrown off by that shift and not having a three-day weekend.
Despite a few cons, Hartmann said as Townsend Public Schools figured out how to make the schedule work best for students and staff, she has seen improvements in the depth of curriculum staff are able to impart to students and in student attendance.
“The benefits I’ve seen from the four-day are heavily outweighing the negatives of it,” Hartmann said.
Hartmann also writes Townsend Public Schools’ 21st Century Grant, gaining just under $1 million for the schools last year, she said, and is the district’s Title I director.
Hartmann’s contract will begin on July 1.
Perfectly competent at too many things
Keely's journalism career started with staff positions at the Lone Peak Lookout and The Madisonian in southwest Montana and freelancing for Dance Spirit Magazine.
In 2023, she completed a legislative reporting fellowship with KFF Health News during Montana's 68th legislative session and graduated with an MA in Environmental Journalism from the University of Montana. Keely completed a summer fire reporting internship with Montana Free Press in 2022.
Her bylines include Scientific American, Modern Farmer, U.S. News & World Report, CBS News, The New Republic, KFF Health News, Montana Free Press, Ars Technica, Mountain Journal and Outside Business Journal.
She also is a producer and editor for a Montana Public Radio podcast.
Keely received her undergraduate degrees in History and Religious Studies from Montana State University in 2017.
In her spare time, she's dancing, drinking processo and running around the mountains.
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