Last month a junior high teacher and his wife raised concerns about staffing issues and other matters at the school. Andrew Lillienthal and his wife Cassidy both questioned staffing concerns at the school.

The elementary level will see two teacher positions not filled and the high school one. But School District 6 Superintendent Cory Dziowgo said those aren’t staffing cuts per se, they are not filling positions where teachers have retired or left.

 “The district is not cutting (reduction in force) staff. We are taking advantage of staff members who are leaving (departure or retiring) and right-sizing our staffing to meet the needs of our students. We will remain within accreditation levels and ensure we are providing a well-rounded educational system for our students,” he said in a recent email.

The district currently has three teacher openings. One for an elementary special education teacher and two at the high school: A math teacher and a special education teacher. It also has openings for bus drivers, custodians paraeducators, coaches and other support staff.

But Cassidy Lillienthal suggested the school look at cutting sports programs, rather than teaching positions.

Andrew Lillienthal also had another problem: Students are apparently able to get around firewalls designed to keep them from playing games on school-issued Google Chromebooks.

“It’s a big problem we’re seeing at the junior high,” he said.

It’s the sort of activity that has to constantly be policed.

Lillienthal teaches social studies at the junior high.

The district has time to further examine its staffing needs. The school year ended on June 12. State funding, and thus staffing, is typically tied to enrollment. 

This year enrollment at the high school was down sharply by mid-year, down 52 students, and kindergarten enrollment has been down sharply the past couple of years as well.

It remains to be seen whether new housing developments here will mean more students. High school students more and more are opting for online classes, or a blend of online and in-person classes.

Even with population growth, from 2016 to 2025 the Columbia Falls School District enrollment has been flat, according to the Flathead County Superintendent of Schools annual report.

While the numbers are always a year behind, they do show trends. The 2025 report, for example, shows 117 home schooled children in Columbia Falls.

It also shows the district losing students, particularly at the elementary level, to other schools. West Glacier, for example, has 45 Columbia Falls students, while it only loses three students to Columbia Falls.

Deer Park has 45 Columbia Falls students, while 28 students from its district go to Columbia Falls. That’s a difference of 17 students.

According to the U.S. Census, the total population of estimate of Columbia Falls, in turn, is up from 5,321 in 2020 to 5,753 in 2025, a net increase of more than 400 residents.

Regardless of enrollments, schools like Columbia Falls still have to keep the lights on and maintain buildings. The district will ask voters in September to approve a $75.9 million bond to completely remodel the high school, which is more than 65 years old.