The Bozeman School District 7 board holds a special meeting Monday, July 27 at 5:45 PM in the Willson School board room (#217A, 404 W Main St). Here's what to know before it happens.

Updated September 25: the board adopted the revised Policy 3630 on August 17. The recap covers what the adopted version requires.

Updated Friday, July 24: the agenda packet is posted. The plain-English breakdown is below.

Updated Wednesday, July 29: the meeting has happened. Video and minutes will be linked from the board meeting agendas page when they post. In the meantime, the draft of Policy 3630 that trustees discussed is readable. It's a first reading, so no vote has happened yet.

What's a "special" meeting?

Board meetings come in two flavors: regular meetings (the scheduled ones) and special meetings, called when something needs board action before the next regular date. Under board policy the agenda packet must be posted at least 48 hours ahead, and the July 27 packet is now up on the district's agendas page.

What's on the agenda?

The packet runs eight pages, but the meeting itself is short: two votes and two discussions. Everything else on the numbered list is a placeholder.

A tip for reading any BSD7 agenda: the district starts from one standing outline every meeting and marks the slots it isn't using this time. The packet says so in its own key at the top: red = not an agenda item (placeholder), black = agenda item. So an agenda that looks long can be a meeting that runs half an hour.

Two votes

3.3.1: One nonresident student

A student who recently moved out of the district is asking to finish the 2026-27 school year at their current BSD7 school. Montana opened nonresident enrollment across public schools with House Bill 203 in the 2023 Legislature; BSD7 handles these requests under Policy 3141/3141P and § 20-5-320, MCA, and approvals are granted year to year rather than permanently. Superintendent Casey Bertram recommends approval. The packet lists the fiscal impact as tuition receipts under HB 203, and the student's details are de-identified in the board materials.

This one sits on the consent agenda, a bundle of routine items passed in a single vote without separate discussion, unless a trustee asks to pull one out.

4.1.1: The MTSBA ballot

MTSBA is the Montana School Boards Association, the statewide membership organization districts belong to. Its 2026 annual meeting was held June 10 in Helena and took no formal action, so association business goes out to member boards as an electronic ballot instead. Monday's vote decides how BSD7 marks that ballot; the district clerk then submits it on the board's behalf. The packet lists no fiscal impact.

Two discussions, no vote Monday

5.1.1: The cell phone policy (Policy 3630)

Trustees take a first look at recommended revisions to Policy 3630, Student Use of Personal Mobile Devices. The packet ties the revision to the district's Student Well-being Goal, notes the district has been watching how high schools nationally are handling phone access, and says it solicited feedback from students, parents and staff.

Two things worth knowing before Monday.

First, district policy requires two readings before a policy changes, so Monday is discussion only. The vote lands on a later agenda as a consent item. If you have a view on phones in school, the window is now rather than after.

Second, the packet lists a fiscal impact of $16,000 per year from the High School General Fund. It doesn't itemize what that money covers, and I'd rather not guess. But it's a fair thing to ask about.

The packet doesn't include the proposed new language. For reference, here's what the policy on the books in July said (adopted October 12, 2020; the policy explorer has the version adopted August 17):

  • Personal devices are to be off and out of sight during instructional time.
  • Use is prohibited in classrooms during the school day, in media centers and testing centers, and during fine arts performances.
  • High school students may use devices before and after classes in common areas: near lockers, the cafeteria, outside on school grounds. That allowance explicitly does not extend to middle school students.
  • Teachers may permit purposeful classroom use tied to learning objectives, with prior approval of the principal.
  • Devices are prohibited in locker rooms and restrooms, and students may not photograph or record others without their consent.
  • Medical necessity or emergency use is allowed with advance authorization from the principal.
  • Violations follow the consequences in the Student Handbook.

The current policy already draws a line between middle school and high school, and the listed fiscal impact falls on the high school fund, so high school is a reasonable place to expect the conversation to land. That's a read of the packet, not something the district has said.

5.2: The 2026-27 preliminary budget

Director of Business Services Lacy Clark brings preliminary 2026-27 budget numbers, joined by Mike Waterman, Executive Director of Business and Operations. Preliminary is the operative word: the packet says changes get reviewed at the August 17 meeting.

The timeline that matters for anyone who wants a say: state law requires trustees to adopt final budgets on or before August 25 each year, and BSD7's 2026-27 budgets are scheduled for approval on the August 17 agenda. Once the board adopts, the budget document goes up on the district website, with hard copies available on request.

This is the fund the levy dollars land in. If you want a sense of what the 2026 levies cost a household, the levy calculator gives an estimate by home value.

And the standing items

Item 6 is public comment on non-agenda items, the slot for raising something that isn't otherwise on Monday's list. The packet also notes that public comment may be submitted electronically to trustees@bsd7.org.

Items 7.1 and 7.2 are reports: the Executive Cabinet's update, and the trustees' own round of requests, concerns and future agenda items. Because topics raised there haven't been publicly noticed, they don't get decided that night, but 7.2 is where a lot of next month's agenda gets seeded, which makes it some of the most useful listening in the meeting.

How to attend or comment

Meetings are open to the public and recorded (recordings are linked from the same agendas page and kept at least a year). Item 6 covers comment on topics that aren't on the agenda; comment on an agenda item generally happens as that item comes up, so if you're coming for the phone policy, come at the start. Public comment procedures are set by Policy 1420 (meeting procedure), and comments can also be emailed to trustees@bsd7.org.

Dates for your calendar

Board dates for the start of the 2026-27 year, all 5:45 PM at Willson: July 27 (special) · Aug 17 · Aug 31 · Sept 14. The calendar tool has the rest of the year. And one for the parents: grades 1–12 start August 31; kindergarten starts September 3.

The recap covers what happened on July 27.

Agenda details verified against the district's posted packet on July 24, 2026. I'm a Bozeman parent writing independently. Not affiliated with BSD7. I ran for school board in 2026 and I'm running again in 2027. Sources linked throughout; corrections welcome.