Joe Halligan is a retired middle school administrator from Billings, MT, who spent 12 years in the classroom and 13 years as a building level administrator, retiring in June of 2023. In the fall of 2017, he opened Ben Steele Middle School, and spent his last 6 years building the educational and cultural foundation for the newest middle school in Billings. Prior to (and during) his teaching career, Joe spent 6 years in the Marine Corps, ending his enlistment with the local reserve unit – Bravo Company, 4th Reconnaissance Bn. He was honorably discharged in December of 2004. Currently, he is serving the Billings Public School District as the School Safety and Emergency Management Coordinator for all of BPS, and has been in that role since October 2023. In that role, he works closely with a team of 8 SRO’s, and an SRO supervisor. Additionally, Joe serves his community as a Yellowstone County Sheriff Reserve Deputy. Joe has been married to his wife, Tonya, for 30 years this August, and together they have raised two successful young men, Jake (25) and Connor (23), both of whom are graduates of MSU and are currently serving as officers in the United States Air Force and United States Army, respectively. Joe has a passion for school safety and public service, and has adopted the training philosophy of “training for reality, not for comfort.”