Every official source behind the guides and tools on this site, grouped by who actually runs it. That matters when you're deciding how much to trust something, and a few of these are easy to mistake for each other.

Where two pages differ, I've noted it, because that is the sort of thing you want to know before you spend twenty minutes on it.

The district's own pages

Authoritative. If something here disagrees with something I've written, believe these.

  • Enrollment: all grades, plus the kindergarten age rule. The starting point for anything about getting a kid into a school.
  • Running Start: the free pre-K program for income-qualified 4-year-olds. Heads up: the dates on this page are from the 2022–23 cycle. Use the Enrollment page for current timing.
  • Boundary map: which school your address is assigned to. Uncheck the county-wide layer before you look, or you'll be reading the wrong map.
  • Transportation: walk boundaries and bus fees. The online bus registration form is linked from this page, under Register for Bus Service.
  • Food services: meal prices and the links to payment and application portals.
  • Student health services: immunization requirements and forms.
  • District calendar: the official one. The full year is published as a one-page PDF, and the district's calendar feed carries the next few months. The calendar tool has the whole year, searchable and subscribable.
  • Board of Trustees: who the eight trustees are and when their terms end.
  • Board meeting agendas: packets go up at least 48 hours before each meeting, and meeting videos are linked from the same table. The packets use their own color key: red means placeholder, black means a real agenda item. A long agenda is often a short meeting.
  • Previous years' agendas and minutes: where approved minutes end up. Minutes are approved at a later meeting, so they appear a month or so behind.
  • Staff directory: for when you need a person rather than a page.
  • 2026 election archive: the district's own record of the last school election.

District policies are published as public Google Docs across nine numbered series rather than on the website. That's why my policy explorer exists: same documents, searchable, with the authority for each one attached.

Platforms the district uses

Run by outside companies, not the district. This is where you actually do things: pay, apply, register, check grades.

  • PowerSchool: enrollment forms, emergency contacts, grades and attendance. The one account you genuinely cannot skip.
  • Canvas: where classwork and assignments live.
  • MySchoolBucks: putting money on a meal account.
  • MySchoolApps: applying for free or reduced-price meals. Different site from MySchoolBucks despite both being meals and both being run by Heartland.
  • MealViewer: lunch menus. The district links MealViewer, but at least one school's own site links a different tool (Nutrislice). If a menu looks wrong, check the other one.
  • FirstView: live bus tracking, run by First Student who operate the buses under contract.
  • Bus registration form: the actual sign-up. It's a TeamDynamix ticket form, linked from the district's Transportation page under Register for Bus Service.

Community organizations

  • kidsLINK: before- and after-school care, run by Greater Gallatin United Way rather than the district. Registration goes through a platform called Enrollsy.
  • kidsLINK FAQs: this page and the one above list different schools for morning care. The schools with a price attached are the safer bet; confirm anything else by phone.
  • Hyalite PAC: one of the school parent groups. Most schools have one; few have websites.

Montana law and state agencies

Where the rules actually come from. Useful when someone tells you the board can simply decide something.

Coverage

Links rot. These were all checked on July 31, 2026, and I recheck them when I update the tool that cites them. If one is broken or a page has moved, tell me and I'll fix it: patrick@patrickzimny.com.

I'm a Bozeman parent writing independently. Not affiliated with BSD7.