BOZEMAN — As summer ends, one thing Bozeman School Board trustees are looking ahead at in the school year is the possibility of changing the school boundaries of Bozeman High and Gallatin High School.
“A glaring issue we have with high school boundaries. Gallatin High opened in 2020, and it's quickly full,” says BSD7 Superintendent Casey Bertram.
According to the Montana High School Association, Gallatin High School’s enrollment in 2023-2024 was 1,480. Bertram says the schools currently have about a 230 student difference; he says last school year, they sent students from Gallatin to Bozeman.
"We’ll convene a team that will look at options for moving around high school boundaries between Bozeman High and Gallatin High,” says Bertram.
Because of the rapid growth on Bozeman's west side, Bertram says the trustees will look at changing the boundaries for the 2025-2026 school year.
“At the high school level, we're looking at studying it, bringing a recommendation to the board for the following school year,” says Bertram.
Bertram points out that the district will only study the changes to the high school boundaries. He doesn’t expect any changes to elementary or middle school boundaries.
“Have the board weigh in on whether we're going to move forward with K-8 or not, and they've chosen to pause,” says Bertram.
One thing they do plan to keep an eye on is the new open enrollment passed during the 2023 legislative session.
“It really didn't result in a lot of change. So, you know, we have over 7,000 students in the district, so a few students coming and going doesn't really impact that,” says Bertram.
Bertrum says the process will take months to come up with a new boundary as the district asks parents, students, and teachers to weigh in.
