School board elections: West Valley
School elections are May 4 with contested trustee races in several school districts.
Information on candidates will be published throughout the week. Candidates were invited to respond to questions emailed by the Daily Inter Lake to provide voters with more information such as a candidate’s background, experience and reason for running.
The following information is for West Valley School District candidates.
There are eight candidates vying for two three-year terms. They include: Gretchen Brown, Justin Buls, Julie Gerrior, Chad Grace, Stefanie Hanson, incumbent Cory Hill, Chad Huff, and Kristen Krueger.
A mail-ballot election will be held. The district has until April 19 to mail ballots to registered voters. Ballots may be returned by mail or in-person to the district office, 2290 Farm to Market Road, Kalispell. The district must receive ballots by 8 p.m. May 4.
Name: Gretchen Brown
Occupation: Behavioral health therapist at Kalispell Middle School
Background/experience: I have been a community social worker in the Flathead Valley for 20 years, 10 as a child protection social worker and most recently as a licensed clinical social worker working in behavioral health with the schools. I have served on the West Valley PTO since 2008, a small, but mighty group of parents. Additionally, I am on the Flathead Community Health Center Board of Directors.
Why are you running? I am so grateful for this opportunity to run for the board of trustees at West Valley School. This has been a long-range plan for me to allow me to stay connected to West Valley School. I have had a child at West Valley School since 2008, and have been deeply involved there on both a personal level through the PTO and on a professional level. My youngest child is graduating from WVS this year. I will no longer have a child at West Valley. Connections I have built over the years at the school are meaningful to me. Being on the school board is a way for me to continue to support and guide the growth and inevitable change in the coming years.
Parental involvement and connection to their child’s place of learning is the single best predictor of a child’s educational success. I have a background in education sociology and know the policies that help or hinder a family’s ability and desire to be involved in their child’s learning community. I am running for a trustee position because I want to offer balanced, informed guidance on the policies that dictate how our community of learners are supported.
If elected, is there anything you want to see accomplished? I would like to continue the great work and guidance the board has provided for our community of learners.
Name: Justin Buls
Occupation: I am a family physician specializing in OB and sports medicine with a BS in
microbiology.
Background/experience: I was the chair of the Infection Control Committee at North Valley for four years. I was secretary/treasurer at North Valley Hospital for one year. I was the vice chief of staff for one year followed by chief of staff for an additional year. During those three terms, I sat on the board of North Valley Hospital. I served a two-year term as the department chair of family medicine at Kalispell Regional Medical Center. The year prior to that I was the vice-chair. During those three years, I sat on the Medical Executive Committee for KRMC. Currently, I am on the board of the Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana.
Why are you running for the school board? Within the bylaws of becoming a board member it states that “the first and greatest concern must be the educational welfare of the students” and I feel that we have some improvements that I would like to help implement. Our children deserve to have board members fighting for their rights and fighting for the opportunity for them to obtain the best education. I feel as though I am a great candidate to serve on the board as I am an educated, logical person, willing to listen to other people's thoughts and opinions even though they differ from my own. Get back to the kids and their educational needs coming first. They deserve someone to be their voice as well as our parents and the community members supporting them. The board is supposed to work for the community, teachers, parents, and most importantly the children. I want to make sure that we get back to that mentality. I am not interested in pushing my own agenda. I recognize a board member is only as good as the people it represents. You all deserve transparency and board members that are willing to reach out to each and every one of you.
If elected, is there anything you want to see accomplished? I would like to see a change in the grading system that was implemented a few years back. West Valley switched to an AD, P, N, NI as opposed to the traditional A, B, C, D, and F. With the current system the AD or advanced are basically unattainable, and a P or proficient is anything 70% and above. I believe, and have seen in my own children, the current grading system is creating children that do “just enough.” It definitely leaves for an adjustment when they get to high school. I also want to see more parent/community input. The board is supposed to reflect the community yet nobody has asked for input on issues. I would also like to make some bylaw changes. For instance, within our current board and chair there is only one member with children that are attending the school system. I believe the board would be better served with members who have children in the school. They would be more informed on issues, classes, problems, needs, wants and desires instead of relying on hearsay. Transparency and communication are key. We have multiple families that are very angry, not necessarily because of the decisions, but because they don’t feel like they were heard and respected.
Name: Julie Gerrior
Occupation: Natural resource specialist on the Tally Lake Ranger District on the Flathead National Forest.
Background/experience: I previously served on the board of directors for a nonprofit early childhood development center for over three years with one of them as secretary. I know firsthand the responsibilities board members have to help adopt and enforce the management and business functions of a school.
Why are you running? I believe in community service. My whole professional career I have worked for the public and have always been held accountable. Our school has some important decisions to be made in the near future regarding our exponential growth in the valley. I am someone who takes the time to research a topic and fully understand it before making a decision on it, especially one that impacts taxpayers. I have no agenda to get in there and try to change things, just roll up my sleeves and get the important work done. I look forward to being part of a team of dedicated individuals that supports our children being in a happy and safe learning environment.
Name: Chad Grace
Occupation: Engineering manager at PotlatchDeltic
Background/experience: I have been on several HOA boards and was recently the vice president of the board for Northwest Sharpshooters Lacrosse.
Why are you running? I am running for the board to help give parents a voice in their children's education. I started attending the board meetings for West Valley School last spring and found that the administration had a strong voice while the parents speaking for their children had none. I, like most parents, want my children to be pushed to live up to their fullest potential, our oldest daughter who attended West Valley from 4-8 grade was never really challenged by the curriculum offered. We need something better for kids who breeze through school, often bored, because the challenge offered is too easy. I currently have two kids remaining at West Valley and I want them to get the best education possible while they're there. Grades for West Valley School have been slipping on greatschools.org since we moved back to the valley in 2014. There are still many excellent teachers at West Valley and I firmly believe West Valley can regain its status as a top-notch school, but I also firmly believe that will require a change in the board to make it happen.
Name: Stefanie Hanson
Occupation: Broker/owner of Beckman’s Real Estate
Background/experience: I own Beckman’s Real Estate so am constantly negotiating contracts between clients and have experience in reaching common end goals together while listening to each side of everyone’s argument. I look forward to listening to questions/concerns that our West Valley families have and taking those items back to the board to help get to a solution for the community as a whole. I currently serve on the Northwest Montana Association of Realtors MLS board and the Northwest Montana Association of Realtors Government Affairs board, and recently joined the steering committee for West Valley School.
Why are you running? My husband, Jason and I, are Flathead Valley natives. Jason went to West Valley school many years ago so it was very important to us that our children went to West Valley and we have deep ties to the community. We deeply care about the West Valley children, families, teachers, staff, and the community as a whole. We have two children, Justin, 7, and Annie, 5, that go to West Valley so we get to be a part of the “West Valley Family” for the next eight years or more. I would like to listen to the West Valley community and families to help move the West Valley school forward and work with everyone to get to a common end goal together. I am always looking for ways to give back to my community and I feel serving on the school board is a way that I can give back to our West Valley community by listening to the families, teachers, staff and community as a whole and bringing those concerns/insights back to the board so we can all get to a resolution together. I look forward to listening and serving your family, children, and our West Valley community on the school board. Thanks for your vote!
If elected, is there anything you want to see accomplished? My focus is to put our children and their education as first priority because they are the next generation for our community! At the same time of setting our children up for success in life, we need to support the teachers and staff that are teaching our children every day. I think we are all ready for some normalcy again in school and the community as a whole. I look forward to serving you and your family at West Valley!
Name: Cory Hill (i)
Occupation: Former cabinet maker of over 19 years of high-end restaurants and
homes throughout the United States.
Background/experience: My wife, Lisa and I have been married almost 21 years, and have five children, Kacie, 27, Brittanie, 26, Zachary, 20, Paige, 19, Payton, 19 and three grandbabies. Education: I graduated from Columbia Falls High school in 1989 and then went on to be a master cabinetmaker at Architectural Woodworking of Montana in Columbia Falls.
I grew up in Columbia Falls and moved to West Valley just over 20 years ago. Four of my five kids attended and graduated from West Valley school. I’ve been a baseball, a softball and a volleyball coach throughout the years for a lot of the West Valley kids. I’ve been a chaperone of numerous trips for the school from ski trips to Blacktail Mountain to hikes in Glacier Park. I was appointed to the West Valley school board 10 years ago. I have taken many classes throughout the years to educate myself on what it takes to be a trustee. I have been part of many committees within the school including the steering committee which oversaw the planning, design and construction of the new addition which almost doubled the size of the current school. With weekly meetings with the contractor and other committee members, we were able to completely remodel the older additions to the north, inside and out without asking for any more money. As we are looking at a possible full school within five years if not sooner, I’m currently part of the committee that is looking into expanding our school or possible building another school on a new piece of property. I’m also currently on the team that is negotiating a contract with the staff and the teacher’s union representatives.
Why are you running for the school board? I’m running for reelection since I feel I have the most experience as a trustee. In order to have a great school board, you need experience and people that work well together. I’ve been part of this board for over 10 years and I would like to continue providing the best educational experience for our kids and staff. It’s great knowing that I have been part of this district as it is one of the most sought-after schools in the valley. When I first moved out here, kindergarten and first grade was in the same classroom, now there are roughly four classrooms per grade with a separate middle school. That's only accomplished if you have been a good representative for our community and still maintain what is best for our school district which I feel I’m most suited for.
If elected, is there anything you want to see accomplished? With the ever-changing education system, I want to see that West Valley stays ahead of the game and provides everything the teachers and staff are needing to give the best to the students. With the speed of the growing population in the West Valley area, in order for the school to keep up with the growth, we need to make sure there is classroom and building availability, and continue to have the resources that draw the best teachers to West Valley. One thing West Valley is needing is curriculum choices, but I feel that will expand as classroom space becomes available.
Name: Chad Huff
Occupation: Primarily I am a stay-at-home parent, but I also own and operate a small business here in the valley that does technology education and event sound systems.
Background/experience: Currently, I sit on the board for Kalispell Peewee Baseball, I am a coach in three different youth sports, and I am a Montana Officials Association official. I have experience teaching and hold both a bachelor's degree and master's degree in education. In the past, I've been on many committees and boards, from my time as an educator to being the president of a preschool. I spend the majority of my free time volunteering to help youth in our area.
Why are you running? First and foremost, I am running for school board because I was asked to do so by several people that I respect. The school board is a position that serves the youth of our district, and I have a heart for helping youth. My experience has taught me that I am effective at helping to facilitate positive change in organizations that I have been a part of in the past. For me, the suggestion of running for school board was a good one, and I believe that I can help to make positive change if elected. Second, I am steadfast in what the code of ethics states for our district when it closes, “Remember always that my first and greatest concern must be the educational welfare of students attending public schools.” I have concern for candidates that are running for our board in order to change a single issue that they may disagree with, or want to push. To me, the greater good is what is important, and in a district that is growing so rapidly, it is imperative that we focus on our kids, our staff, and our future moving forward.
If elected, is there anything you want to see accomplished? If elected, I would like to aid our district in moving forward toward well thought out, common goals in order to see our district thrive. When I coach young people, I often urge them to simply care. Care about one another, care about people we haven't met yet, and care about doing well in anything that we are doing by giving our best effort. We are growing, and we need to figure out what the best plan for the future of our district is with regard to student needs. This involves facilities, staffing, technology, and most of all, care.
Name: Kristen Krueger
Occupation: Business owner/farmer
Background/experience: I am a fourth-generation Montana and local Flathead Valley resident and business owner of Krueger Farms, Inc., where annually my husband Derek and I farm 2,500-plus acres of land. We have three children, one daughter age 13 and two foster boys ages 7 and 6. All of my children attend West Valley School. I am a 2015 graduate of the MSU Extension Research Education Agricultural Leadership Program. I am a prior elected board member of Montana Grain Growers Board of Directors and a current board member of USDA Farm Service Agency County Committee.
Why are you running? I am running for the West Valley School Board position due to my extensive experience in management, budgeting, and prior service on local and state boards. I feel I could well represent the values of West Valley parents and families. We need open dialogue to hear the voice of our parents and community members. Despite the trying times of our current environment with COVID-19, I hope to bring a commonsense perspective on current issues that affect our community and West Valley School.