Five candidates running for three trustee seats

Kalispell Public Schools has two contested trustee races in the elementary district.

Voting is through mail ballots. Ballots have been mailed out to registered voters in the Kalispell elementary district and must be received by Tuesday, May 3, at the central administration building, 233 First Ave. E., Kalispell.

People who aren’t registered may do so at the county election office at the Flathead County Fairgrounds in Kalispell.

Two seats with three-year terms and one seat with a two-year term are up for election.

Candidates seeking the three-year term are Diane Morton Stout and incumbents Anna Marie Bailey and Mary Tepas.

 • Anna Marie Bailey, 60, spends her time volunteering. In that capacity she has served on the school board for 18 years and continues to be passionate about education in Kalispell Public Schools.

“I still care passionately about our school district,” Bailey said. “I am very excited about our curriculum changes that we have incorporated and I’m very excited about curriculum changes that are coming.”

Bailey said she wants to be part of a district that continues to be a state leader in when it comes to adding new and relevant curriculum offerings and having high achievement. That is a direct result of the quality teaching staff, according to Bailey, a mother of two daughters who attended Kalispell Public Schools and went on to become an attorney and school psychologist.

“We have some of the best staff in the state. They make our curriculum work,” Bailey said.

During her years on the board, she has been a member of many of committees and currently serves on a personnel committee.

“What I’ve tried to do is change my involvement in committee work to become a well-rounded board member,” Bailey said.

She also helped start and is a current board member of the Kalispell Education Foundation, which works to raise money to enhance projects, curriculum and innovative ideas in Kalispell Public Schools.

Bailey said she has been a strong advocate for students with special needs along with Indian Education for All.

Bailey said she thinks one of the issues to tackle is technology funding for schools and informing the public about what the needs are.

• Diane Morton Stout, 45, is employed as a secretary at Epworth United Methodist Church in Kalispell and currently serves on the Flathead Valley Community College Foundation Board.

The mother of three Edgerton Elementary students and one son in the military cited her school-related background as being “a product of School District 5 all the way through school from the original Edgerton School, Linderman and Kalispell Junior High School, to graduation from Flathead High School.”

Morton Stout said she is running for trustee because “I think it’s important we support our schools. Better schools make a stronger community.”

Holding a master’s degree in teaching, Morton Stout said she is a supporter and advocate for public education and Kalispell Public Schools.

“If we provide the infrastructure and support, our students will succeed,” Morton Stout said. “Our schools deal with challenging issues — expanding curriculum requirements, ever-increasing technology needs, school funding, enrollment and the likely addition of new schools, to name just a few. I’m excited by the chance to share in this process and motivated to maintain and even exceed the level of excellence for our current and many future students. School District 5 supported me through my education, now I want to do the same for future students.”

• Mary Tepas, 45, is a senior project manager at SmartLam and began serving on the school board in August.

Tepas has served on two committees ­— policy and communications and federal programs.

An advocate for Special Education, Tepas was among a group of parents and organizations that successfully advocated to get transportation funding reinstated for Kalispell Middle School students to attend the 2014 state winter games.

Out of that discussion, Tepas was part of a committee that helped create a memorandum of understanding between the district and Special Olympics Montana.

She also volunteers as a training coordinator for the Glacier Area Management Team for Special Olympics Montana and is a parent adviser for the Special Olympics Youth Activation Committee.

The parent of two Flathead High School students became interested in special education when her youngest son was diagnosed with autism.

“I just want to make sure that the needs of all of the kids are met,” Tepas said about why she is running for a trustee position.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/electmarytepas.

In the other trustee race, Rebecca Linden and Frank Miller are vying for a two-year trustee term in the elementary district.

• Rebecca Linden, 48, is a mother of two children who attend Hedges Elementary and is a self-employed botanist and former business owner.

Linden’s background in education includes teaching experience at Kansas University. She also has served as a tutor. Linden said she has taught private classes “on pretty much everything from dancing to plant identification.”

Linden’s approach to serving as a trustee is coming up with systematic solutions with a focus on education, collaboration, communication and teacher support.

“I feel strongly about education,” said Linden, who holds a master’s degree in plant physiology. “I think education is incredibly important for the community.”

Linden said she wants to be a part of the direction in which Kalispell Public Schools moves forward.

“We need to make sure our focus is on education,” Linden said. “We need to look at the bottom line on how we spend money on things directly related to education.”

Communication within the district and between the district, parents and the community is something Linden said could be improved.

“Schools need to work on communication,” Linden said. “We have a great community. How do we reach out individuals and groups in community to help with schools?”

For more information visit http://rebeccalinden.com.

• Frank Miller, 70, is a retired educator with 41 years of experience teaching at all grade levels. From 1971 through 2010, Miller taught in all but three buildings in Kalispell schools. He taught high school accounting, elementary physical education, served as a dean at Kalispell Junior High (now a middle school) and at Bridge Academy.

Miller has four years of experience on the school board, including serving as chairman. He served on most board committees such as finance and personnel and was involved with union negotiations.

Miller said he decided to run for the board again to be part of the process in deciding the future of Kalispell Public Schools facilities. Miller was on the board when funding was received to build eight classrooms as a short-term solution to elementary overcrowding.

“While I was on there, we had finally gotten some land” to address overcrowding, Miller said. “I think my experience and input would be helpful in make sure we get what we need and have the community support for it.”

Miller said support from taxpayers is crucial in deciding what to build, as is continuing community support if facilities are built.

“If we get the dollars we need, we have to make certain the dollars they give us are used in such a way to meet the needs that we have,” Miller said. “We have to be smart about it and do it right so that we do get the support of the taxpayer.”

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.