Kalispell School Board officially hires Trageser as Flathead boys basketball coach

The Kalispell School Board made it official at its regular monthly meeting Tuesday, approving Dan Trageser as the next boys basketball coach at Flathead High School.

“The board voted unanimously to approve the basketball coach that was brought forward to us,” Board chair Heather Asher said Wednesday.

That was Trageser, whose approval had been delayed during a special meeting and work session on May 23.

Public comment had noted that the Flathead High hiring committee had made a recommendation to replace Dirk Johnsrud in late April or early May, only to have Superintendent Micah Hill decline to bring that choice to the board.

That candidate was then replaced by Trageser, who was announced as the head coach pending board approval on May 22, around two months after Johnsrud stepped down.

Asher expressed being surprised by the events and that she and vice chair Scott Warnell would investigate the matter.

“I was able to go through the complete process with Micah Hill,” Asher said Wednesday. “I followed up with just about everybody that was involved, on both sides. What it comes down to is that policy was followed exactly as written.”

That Hill stopped and then restarted the hiring process is rare but within the rules, Asher said:

“It’s up to the discretion of the superintendent to pass the recommendation to the board.”

She added that after the process was completed a second time, one candidate was offered the job and he turned it down.

“And candidate No. 2 was offered the position, and he accepted it. And that’s who the board unanimously approved to hire last night,” Asher said.

Trageser has been with the Braves as they started playing their summer season. The 36-year-old Stillwater Christian alum previously led a powerhouse girls basketball team at Casteel High in Arizona.

Among the four original finalists was Flathead High product Jeff Epperly, who was junior varsity coach under Ross Gustafson for one season and for one-plus seasons under Johnsrud — and was Flathead’s freshman coach from 1014-19. It appears he was the original choice of the hiring committee, which in turn prompted public comment on May 23 and again Tuesday night.

“It happened to be a hot topic,” Asher said. “It has the eyes of the community.

“It just happens that this process went differently than a lot of people intended it to go, and I think it caught a lot of people off guard.”

Fritz Neighbor can be reached at 406-758-4463 or fneighbor@dailyinterlake.com.