Helena Public Schools Board Unanimously Adopts New District Boundary Map

The Helena Public Schools Board of Trustees voted unanimously in January 2026 to adopt a new district boundary map designed to rebalance enrollments across elementary, middle and high schools and to make more efficient use of staff and programs. The plan takes effect with the 2026-2027 school year and will be phased in for students who are newly enrolling - primarily kindergarteners and students transitioning to sixth grade.

A district presentation laying out the rationale said, “Changing the East/West Boundary Line will balance Middle School and High School enrollments.” The presentation added, “The reason to make the shift is to ensure equal student educational opportunities remain an option of each high school and middle school. If we do not change, students on one side of town will have more class opportunities than on the other side of town.” Officials also cited budget challenges and human resource constraints, noting that sending program staff to multiple sites reduces instructional time.

Implementation is explicitly targeted at students who have not yet attended a district school. “This is a gradual transition,” McKay said. “The backbone of this plan is this primarily [starts] for kids that haven’t attended school yet. They haven’t been in school. So when you look at numbers for change, this is gradual over time.” Current students are allowed to remain at their existing schools, but the district warned that bus routes will change and that grandfathering under the sibling rule could affect transportation options.

The map shifts specific neighborhoods between elementary feeders and between middle-high pathways. Families north of Lincoln Road and east of Ferry Drive will see K-5 assignments move from Jim Darcy Elementary to Warren Elementary, with middle and high school progression moving to Helena Middle School and Helena High School. Addresses north of Custer Avenue, east of I-15 and south of the Pleasant Valley subdivision will move from Bryant Elementary to Rossiter Elementary while remaining on the Helena Middle School to Helena High School pathway. Treasure State Acres and Tree Street neighborhoods face split impacts: some Four Georgians students will transfer to Rossiter but continue toward C.R. Anderson and Capital High, while other Four Georgians students east of McHugh Lane will shift toward Helena Middle School and Helena High School. For north and east Mount Helena addresses, Grant Street will serve as the new east-west dividing line, with the east side directed to Helena Middle and Helena High and the west side to C.R. Anderson and Capital High. Capital High’s boundary will remain notably larger and includes rural Lewis and Clark County communities such as Wolf Creek, Craig, Willborn, Canyon Creek, Marysville and Remini.

The district’s draft enrollment model provides site-level projections based on fall 2025 counts. It anticipates C.R. Anderson falling from 927 to 837 (-90), Capital High from 1,369 to 1,233 (-136), Helena High rising from 982 to 1,118 (+136), and Helena Middle from 723 to 813 (+90). Several elementary shifts include Four Georgians 477 to 407 (-70), Rossiter 358 to 431 (+73), Warren 262 to 310 (+48), Jim Darcy 458 to 410 (-48) and Bryant 253 to 250 (-3). The district also expects the adjustments to eventually reroute about 350 students to different high school pathways.

For families, the immediate impacts are procedural: new enrolling students will follow the new map beginning with 2026-2027, current students may request grandfathering under the sibling rule, and bus schedules will be revised. The board’s action responds to long-running shifts in enrollment patterns - including the opening of East Helena High in 2019, which reduced Helena High School’s roster by roughly 450 students - and aims to preserve equitable course access and limit lost instructional time from staff travel.

Next steps for residents include reviewing the district’s final adopted map and the transportation notices the district will issue for the coming school year. The phased approach means most changes will play out over several years, with enrollment and program leaders tracking impacts on class offerings, staffing and routes.