The Billings Public Schools District is governed by a nine-member School Board, which appoints a superintendent. With more than 15,000 students, it is the largest district in Montana. The district oversees 21 elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, two ninth-grade academies, an alternative high school, a Career Center, and an Adult Education program that offers GED accreditation, basic math, English, science, and other pre-collegiate coursework. Special education, enrichment programs, education for disadvantaged children, adult education, and extracurricular activities are offered by the district.
The following is a summary of data regarding the Billings Public Schools District as of the 2002–2003 school year.
Total enrollment: 15,778
Number of facilities
elementary schools: 21
middle schools: 4
senior high schools: 5 (including a career center and alternative school)
Student/teacher ratio: K-8, 16.3:1; 9-12, 17.8:1
Teacher salaries (2002)
minimum: $24,990
maximum: $54,205
Funding per pupil: $5,947 (K-8); $7,538 (9-12)
A number of private and parochial schools also serve the metropolitan area.
Public Schools Information: Billings Public Schools, 415 North 30th St., Billings, MT 59101-1298; telephone (406)247-3777; fax (406)496-2070; email sbond@in-tch.com
There are two four-year institutions of higher education in Billings. Montana State University-Billings is a public, state-supported school with a 2005 enrollment of 4,600 students. A satellite campus of 12,000 student Montana State University-Bozeman, the college offers two-year associate and four-year bachelor's degrees in more than 100 programs of study on a 112 acre-campus in Montana's largest city. The University is strongest in areas of Arts and Sciences, Allied Health, Education, Business, and Technology (including nursing); students can earn master's degrees in education and business administration. Rocky Mountain College is affiliated with the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, and the United Presbyterian Church. It offers undergraduate degrees in more than 40 liberal arts and professionally-oriented majors and has an enrollment of about 1,000 students on a 60-acre Billings campus.
The Parmly Billings Library contains more than 300,000 items, including 250,000 books (of these, more than 9,000 are large-print editions). There are also 190 magazine subscriptions, 7,000 music CDs, approximately 8,000 books on tape or CD, 11,000 videos, and 1,400 interactive CDs (games and other software). There are also 5 word processing centers and 18 Internet stations. Key collections include a full-text database research center, an Auto Repair Reference Center, Heritage Quest Online Genealogy Resources, and the NoveList Fiction Guide. There is an Outreach program and Infomobile for senior citizens. Other major libraries in the community are those of Montana State University-Billings and Rocky Mountain College.
Public Library Information: Parmly Billings Library, 510 North Broadway, Billings, MT 59101; telephone (406)657-8257; email refdesk@billings.lib.mt.us