FVCC board sticks with current trustees after none

The Flathead Valley Community College Board of Trustees unanimously voted to cancel upcoming elections for four trustee seats, citing not enough candidates applied for the positions.

The board made the decision during a special meeting conference call held Friday between the trustees and FVCC President, Jane Karas.

The Flathead Valley Community College Board of Trustees is the governing body of the college. The Trustees are charged with the primary responsibilities of establishing college policies and selecting a president to administer the operations of the institution.

The seven members are elected by Flathead County residents and serve three-year terms on a rotating basis, with elections held yearly following the first Monday in May.

During the Friday meeting, Karas reminded the trustees that according to state statute, the board can cancel elections if the number of candidates equals the number of positions open and no one announced the intent to be a write-in candidate. She said the deadline to announce a write-in candidacy to the county election office was March 31.

The canceled elections included three trustee positions and the board’s chair. Each person currently holding the seats was elected by acclamation.

Monica Settles, clerk of the district, said canceling an election isn’t uncommon.

“It just varies on the year,” she said. “Some years we have a large amount of people choose to run and others we simply don’t.”

The four positions that were scheduled for election had recently been filled due to resignations throughout the year, Settles said.

Through the process, Shannon Lund — the governing body’s chair — and Mark Holston were each elected for a three-year term. Kelly Dowling Stimpson and Jeremy Presta were elected for one-year terms.

The board will hold its next regular meeting April 25 at 3:45 in Blake Hall, on FVCC’s Kalispell campus.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.