Candidates compete for school board positions
West Shore News
Five candidates are vying for two open seats on the Somers-Lakeside School Board.
The seats are currently held by Todd Ahern and Lori Moran. Ahern has opted not to run for another term. Elections will be held Tuesday, May 4. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at both district schools. Absentee ballots have to be returned by May 3 at noon.
The Somers-Lakeside PTA along with the West Shore News posed a number of questions to the candidates. Here are some of their responses.
SCOTT HARRISON
Background: Scott Harrison is vice president and part-owner of Anderson Masonry, Inc., in Bigfork. He and wife Diana have three children. He grew up in Kalispell and attended Flathead High School.
What are your reasons for wanting to serve on the board? "I have three children that attend Lakeside School. My wife and I are committed to this district and to our children's education. My goal is to help this school district continue to grow and meet the challenges of the future."
What previous experience with the school district have you had? None, except having children in the district.
What do you see as the major strengths of the district? "It is the people. I can only base it on my own experience. My oldest child attended school in another district before our family moved to the Somers district five years ago. When we moved to this district, we found the people here to be more positive and less concerned with constantly evaluating each other. There is a sense of community and I think that is what makes people want to belong. "
What are the district's greatest challenges at this time? "Obviously, the budget is on the front burner, but given the present conditions our greatest challenge is keeping our commitment to educating the kids in this district."
What do you believe are the most important elements of a quality education? "Kids in the education system should feel safe in their environment, while being exposed to wide variety of learning opportunities. A quality education should also produce results. In my mind, safety, opportunity and results."
What are your priorities when it comes to the budget? "At this time I am not aware of all the variables, but my priority, given budget restraints, would be to ensure all the kids' education levels are not sacrificed. The main objective is education that exceeds the benchmarks that are mandated."
What would your approach or philosophy be when cuts need to be made? "Communication is very important, everybody needs to know where the finances are before moving forward with solutions If cuts are needed, I feel everybody should share in the burden. If there is an excess in the system, that needs to be addressed"
LORI MORAN
(incumbent)
Background: Lori Moran is employed at Glacier Bank in the Consumer Loan Department as operation supervisor. She grew up and attended school in the Somers-Lakeside District.
She returned to the Valley after graduating from Montana State University. She has a daughter at SMS and a newborn who will one day attend Lakeside Elementary.
What are your reasons for wanting to serve on the board? "I feel that our children's education is one of the most important and influential gifts we can ever give. The experience they gain will carry with them throughout their lives and I would like to make sure this experience is a positive one, so whatever time and effort I can give is well worth it. I have enjoyed serving on the board this last term and have learned so much and am continuing to learn something new every day. It is quite a commitment, but I feel it is worth it to be involved in such an important group."
What previous experience with the school district have you had? "I have served one term on the board and would like the chance to continue to do so. Since I have lived in the Flathead for most of my life and attended Somers for my education, I feel very partial to the school and I care very much for what happens to the school, the students and to the community. Since my family has been in the Valley for 70-plus years, I feel I have a good relationship with many members of the community and would again like to have a chance to be a representative."
What do you see as the major strengths of the district? "I feel our district has some excellent teachers and our students are very fortunate to enter the high school with the skills they need to successfully complete their education and go on to graduate. We have many of our students go on to be placed in honors and advanced classes. I feel this is the area in which our district really excels."
What are the district's greatest challenges at this time? "Unfortunately, the economy has taken a turn in the negative direction so this year as well as the upcoming years the board and the district will be faced with budgeting issues. It is the board's goal to keep the impact on the students to a minimum as much as possible."
What do you believe are the most important elements of a quality education? "I feel our kids need to gain a sense of self worth and a sense of security in themselves. The teachers have a huge role in making sure each and every student is given every opportunity to become confident young adults. This can be accomplished by giving them praise when it is due and the nudge in the right direction when a student is feeling unsure. All aspects of education are important, they need to start off with the most important fundamentals of reading, writing and math so they are able to build on these for future education and for the time when they enter into the work force."
What are your priorities when it comes to the budget? "This is most definitely something that will be addressed on a day to day basis. There will always be emergencies that will come up and issues that will take precedence over another. There will be items that will be easy to decide to cut back on and others that will take a lot of input and questioning before a decision to cut will be decided on, so I don't have an exact answer on what should be cut and what should stay. "
What would your approach or philosophy be when cuts need to be made? "I will want to make sure I have researched and asked the appropriate questions to the appropriate people before I would be able to make a decision to make budget cuts in certain areas. I wouldn't want to make such a decision without taking every aspect into consideration and knowing what reprecusions may develop because of such decisions."
TIM MURPHY
Background: Tim Murphy moved to the Valley at age 17. His wife, Michelle, is a native of Somers. They have two children who attend Lakeside Elementary. He currently works for Orphan's Lifeline International.
What are your reasons for wanting to serve on the board? "I want to contribute by being on the school board in a way that enhances the existing resources to continue to benefit the education on the young minds being educated there. I understand that there will be requirements of my time, but I believe the children are worth it."
What previous experience with the school district have you had? "I have had very little personal experience with the school board. I understood that one position was being vacated and I wanted to be involved for my children and the rest of the community."
What do you see as the major strengths of the district? "I believe [the district's' most important strength is that they have teachers who care about the children that they teach and mentor on a daily basis."
What are the district's greatest challenges at this time? "The greatest challenge I see coming is the funding of the school through tax dollars. Where is the district going to be financially in a few years? Are we going to be able to continue to provide quality education to the children of the [district] in the future with the same amount of money and with this economy maybe even less?"
What do you believe are the most important elements of a quality education? "I believe the most important elements of a quality education are these: qualified teachers that really do care about the education of their student; an environment that is safe and is structured to promote quality learning; a well-maintained facility that does not put the children at risk; an academic curriculum that has been tried and tested to benefit the learning of the children; and also a management staff that is proactive in dealing with day to day issues with children be it bad or good."
What are your priorities when it comes to the budget? "Priorities of the budget are in my mind the cost of the maintenance of the buildings, the cost of the curriculum and yes, the administrative cost of the district."
What would your approach or philosophy be when cuts need to be made? "My approach to and philosophy to cuts that may need to be made is just like in business and on the farm and ranch. If it's not broke, don't fix it. If it is broken, fix it or replace it. Keep it simple without sacrificing quality."
TIM ROGGE
Background: Tim Rogge is a building contractor. He attended Somers schools growing up and graduated from FHS. He attended Montana State University and earned a degree in construction engineering technology.
What are your reasons for wanting to serve on the board? "I feel that by giving time and energy, I can help maintain and improve the quality of education for the area children."
What previous experience with the school district have you had? "I attended the Somers school district as a student and I have lived in the district most of my life. I currently have a daughter in second grade attending Lakeside Elementary. I have been involved in many school field trips, school activities and PTA events over the past eight years."
What do you see as the major strengths of the district?
One of the major strengths I see of our school district is the high quality teachers we employ.
What are the district's greatest challenges at this time?
The greatest challenge the district faces currently is a middle school that is too small to serve the growing numbers of students.
What do you believe are the most important elements of a quality education?
I believe the most important elements of a quality education are guiding students as they explore their educational interests and develop their desire to continue learning for a lifetime, while mastering the standard educational requirements.
What are your priorities when it comes to the budget?
My priority with the budget is to provide the children with as many educational opportunities as possible with the funds available.
What would your approach or philosophy be when cuts need to be made?
When cuts need to be made to the budget, I will look at all options and minimize the impact on the student's education.
COURTNEY SHAEFFER
Background: Courtney Shaeffer is a stay-at-home mom as well as a substitute teacher at Somers-Lakeside schools. With her husband, Christian, she has four children ranging from a junior at FHS to her youngest in kindergarten. She has lived in Lakeside for more than seven years.
What are your reasons for wanting to serve on the board? "In order to run efficiently and effectively, our school community requires the service of many qualified individuals. I think it would be wonderful to be a voice and hopefully a benefit to our youth since they are the future of our community."
What previous experience with the school district have you had? "Three years ago, my boys started attending school here and at that time I started volunteering in the library, helping Mrs. [Georgia] Pris restock books.
"I have also volunteered in a first-grade classroom with reading time, and this year, when my youngest started school, I began substituting mostly in the elementary school. I am also a member of the PTA. This experience has shown me many different facets of the school."
What do you see as the major strengths of the district?
-"We have a close knit community with a core of involved parents, teachers, administrators, and other leaders that have made huge strides in improving overall quality in our rural district.
-We have fostered an atmosphere of respect for and between the student body and staff, and an effective no tolerance policy for bullying.
-A successful school lunch program with a quality food menu that is nutritional and exciting.
-Giving all the students the tools needed for them to succeed in secondary education and beyond."
What are the district's greatest challenges at this time? "Finding the funds needed to make the basic structural maintenance improvements needed for the middle school. We are a rural school with a lower population density than most areas and lower average wages than many areas. This creates funding difficulties, especially in a downed economy."
What do you believe are the most important elements of a quality education? "To supply our students with the skills and knowledge necessary in math, science, language arts and history in order to be successful in high school and beyond. To instill the foundational habits necessary to be on the right track for the individual's future education and/or professional life."
What are your priorities when it comes to the budget? "I believe a community's school budget is a necessary investment for any vibrant community. I am also a believer in not spending money we don't have and I believe we should only spend money on things that have proven to work in other schools or fit our particular circumstances. I also know that education is an investment and you want to make the best investment for the long run."
What would your approach or philosophy be when cuts need to be made? "If cuts are necessary, I would try to find places that would have the least negative affect on what the students learn or how they learn and still have their day be a positive place for learning. I would try to be open minded and not quick to judge one side over the other and I would try to see the benefits of both sides in order to make the cuts that make the most sense for everyone involved and for everyone it affects, whether it be community, students or staff. Not to be quick with the decision because sometimes down time and thought are required to see everything in a clear light to make the decision."