Author: Philip M. Faccenda

  ________________________________________________________________________ By now most property owners have received their pre-Thanksgiving gifts from the Cascade County tax folks. A significant amount of the universal tax increase is due to the 2016 $98M school bond passage, the last 1/3 of the bond sale is now reflected in your tax amounts. Once you have recovered from the…

  ________________________________________________________________________ The reaction to Great Falls Public Schools Superintendent Tammy Lacey’s recent resignation was as one would expect, polarized. Some folks celebrated Lacy’s departure, and some, typically those “riding for the brand”, bemoaned what they believed was a significant loss to the District. The dichotomy of Lacey’s tenure can be reduced to her actions,…

  ________________________________________________________________________ The District’s Secret Stash Does the Great Falls Public School District have a plan to grow the local economy and thereby grow the tax base to increase funding for the school district, and perhaps increase student population. How does the district’s do that? New school board trustee, and Great Falls Development Authority employee,…

  ________________________________________________________________________ Do we really need a school board at all? This Spring after the voters of Great Fall defeated the Great Falls Public Schools request for an operational levy totaling $1.4 million, our Superintendent of Schools, Tammy Lacey reacted by publicly stating: “Congratulations to Bozeman, Helena, Kalispell, and Missoula school districts for passing their…

  ________________________________________________________________________ Who’s Hiding the Administrator Raises? At the August 6, 2018 Great Falls Public School District’s school board meeting, the trustees decided to delay a scheduled vote on a listed action item which would give school administrators a blanket 2% raise. After receiving citizen push back, the meeting turned contentious with administrators and board…

  ________________________________________________________________________ Today’s education industrial complex charged with educating our children is big business, costing an estimated $620 Billion a year. The Great Falls Public Schools District, with an annual budget of $91 million, is part of that bigger complex. The taxpayers of Great Falls have supported our school system since 1886, and continue to…

  ________________________________________________________________________ The Great Falls Public School District Just Doesn’t Learn We all understand that the GFPS District offices are located at a higher geographic elevation than the rest of Great Falls, but is the air so much more rarified that the administration’s judgement is clouded? Monday night the school board will consider, and likely…

________________________________________________________________________ Are you just plain stumped about the bad decisions made by the Great Falls Public Schools? Have you ever wondered why so many bad decisions have been made by the Great Falls Public School District? The school district administration seems to step in it every chance they get. These people are supposedly highly educated,…