The school year in Billings School District 2 will now begin in September

Billings, Montana – The district decided to allow SD2 schools to open in September rather than August during the school board meeting on Monday.

Superintendent Dr. Erwin Garcia noted that summers may be very hot and that instructors and students would have to put up with extreme heat since Senior and West High’s air conditioning units are no longer operational.

Dr. Garcia said it would cost taxpayers millions to fix the a-c at both schools, “Equipping both Senior High and West High with a/c units ranges between $20 to $24 million to fix and that’s a high price to pay, and asking the community to pay for that would be challenging,”

According to him, Native American families may now attend their yearly Pow-Wow celebrations in August without worrying about their children missing school thanks to the new timetable. The September start date, he continued, will be a permanent adjustment because, at the moment, SD2 is the only school district in Montana that has an August start date.

Dr. Garcia stated The entire purpose of the late start is to prioritize the needs of the SD2 school personnel and kids.