Original Research by School Decision on Fergus H S
Fergus H S is the high school district serving Lewistown and the surrounding areas of central Montana. It operates a single high school, Fergus High School, and covers just grades nine through twelve. The district is small, with an enrollment that places it among the smaller high school districts in the state. Its student body is overwhelmingly white, with small shares of Hispanic students and a very small number of American Indian, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and multiracial students. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, on students with disabilities, and on English learners was not available in the record, so a parent would need to ask the school directly about those supports.
State testing results for math and English language arts are suppressed in the provided data, so there is no reported proficiency rate for students in grades three through eight. Since Fergus H S is a high school district and does not serve those tested grades, that suppression is consistent with the grade band; the high school itself may administer end-of-course exams, but that data was not included here. A parent interested in academic performance would want to consult the school directly for its own assessment results and for any college readiness indicators such as SAT or ACT participation.
Chronic absenteeism is a noted concern. The district’s rate sits above the median among Fergus County’s districts, meaning a larger share of students miss significant school days than in many neighboring systems. This is worth a conversation with the school about attendance supports and the reasons behind the pattern.
On the operational side, the district has seen clear community investment. Voters approved general fund levies in both 2023 and 2024, providing stable local funding for the high school and directly affecting property taxes. A building reserve levy for the elementary district also passed in 2022, and Fergus High School itself completed renovations to science classrooms and career and technical education spaces in 2023. These facility improvements suggest a community willing to maintain its school infrastructure.
Programmatically, the district has expanded its Career and Technical Education offerings. New courses in welding, healthcare sciences, and computer science give students direct pathways to skilled trades and further training. Dual credit partnerships with Montana State University Northern and the University of Providence allow students to earn college credits while still in high school, a cost-saving and academic advancement opportunity. The district also implemented a one-to-one device program providing Chromebooks to students in grades three through twelve, integrating technology into daily instruction.
Per-pupil current spending falls in the lower half of the middle range among Fergus County’s districts, around a level that is not unusually high or low for the area. The district did not have a reported graduation rate in the available data; a parent would want to confirm that number directly with the school.
Overall, Fergus H S is a small, rural high school district with strong community financial support and recent program expansions in career pathways and college credit. The absence of publicly reported test scores and the elevated chronic absenteeism rate are areas a family would want to explore further, but the investments in CTE, dual credit, and technology point to active efforts to broaden opportunities for students.
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