Custer County District High School in Miles City is heading into the school year with an unusual leadership arrangement: two principals sharing the job instead of one. The situation arose after both the head principal and assistant principal positions came open late in the hiring cycle, leaving the district scrambling to fill the roles before students returned to class.
Rather than leaving one position vacant or rushing to hire a single candidate, the district opted to split responsibilities between two administrators. The specifics of how duties are divided — whether by grade level, department, or function — were not detailed in available reporting, but both are operating with principal authority over the building.
The co-principal model is uncommon in Montana high schools, and how it plays out at Custer County District High School could offer a case study for other districts that find themselves in similar late-summer hiring crunches. Miles City is roughly 220 miles east of Helena on Interstate 94.