East Helena School Board Highlights Student Opportunities, Travel Abroad, and Facility Growth
Author: Rachael Brug, Staff Reporter
East Helena School Board Highlights Student Opportunities, Travel Abroad, and Facility Growth
Rachael Brug
Staff Reporter
At its regular monthly meeting, the East Helena Public Schools Board of Trustees focused heavily on student opportunities, approving new travel plans and taking steps to better define the district’s growing facilities.
Teachers Bret Charlton, Breanna Humphrey-Gilbert, and Rebecca Bergman received approval for the East Helena High School Travel Club to begin fundraising for a nine-day trip to England and Scotland in June 2027. The group will work with EF Tours and plans to visit London, Scotland, and Stratford-upon-Avon, connecting students directly with Shakespeare, theater, and fiber arts studied in class. EF will provide guides, transportation, and payment plans to help families manage the cost.
The board also agreed to formally name the East Helena High School football stadium, responding to a suggestion from girls flag football coach Juliet Han, who noted confusion between the unnamed home field and Helena’s Vigilante Stadium. Superintendent Dan Rispens will convene a naming committee and include Han in the process.
On the business side, trustees approved a new student activity account for Copper Dasher, the high school student store overseen by business teacher Nick Edland and voted to surplus an aging MCI activity bus that has become costly and unreliable.
Looking to future growth, the board conditionally approved a utility and street easement across district-owned land in Mountain View Meadows. The move will extend Alpine View Drive and bring city utilities to the site, improving its potential for future school or field development, while the district works with the City of Helena to clarify liability language.
Rispens also reported a generally positive budget outlook for next year, with projected enrollment and state funding increases expected to cover rising costs without an immediate need for an operating levy.
