Meet trustee candidate Bob Auerbach

In Bob Auerbach’s estimation, local school boards are the most powerful governing body in the country. Establishing a solid foundation for the next generation of leaders is paramount.

Auerbach, 63, is running for one of two seats on the Whitefish School Board. He said he’s ready to get off the sideline and make a difference.

“My wife says I spend an inordinate amount of time yelling at the TV when Fox News is on,” he told the Pilot. “So I thought it might make sense to do something more than yell at the TV set.”

“If I would like to make a difference, then I need to participate.”

Auerbach worked for 40 years in the medical field and is a retired Registered Nurse, most recently working at Kalispell Regional Medical Center. He worked in both psychiatric and acute care environments, “and found both facets equally stimulating,” he said.

He grew up outside of New York City in Scarsdale, N.Y., then went on to college and graduate school at Alford University, Skidmore College and finally Colgate University.

He moved west after college and has been in Whitefish for 20 years.

“I’m not from here, but I got here as soon as I could,” he said.

“I consider this a very special place to live.”

He is married to his wife Diane and has a son in seventh grade at Whitefish Middle School.

A man of deep Christian faith, Auerbach says his religion guides his decision making.

“I make decisions with eternity in mind,” he said. “I feel an obligation to be a servant of God. And I can’t be that if I’m making decisions with spontaneity and absolutely no thought, prayer or wisdom. My decision-making process comes from a Christian world view and I take that profoundly seriously.”

He says there’s a lot to be proud of in all of Whitefish’s schools, but that the district suffers from a public relations problem. Whitefish needs to do a better job of promoting its assets and successes in the classroom, he said.

“We just spent a lot of money on [a new high school] and we shouldn’t be hearing about children deciding to go to Kalispell. There is every reason to go to school in Whitefish.”

“We need to invest time and resources in promoting our school system,” he added. “We have to create a mindset that people want to come back to Whitefish. I’ve talked to people who have said to me ‘I can’t believe they wasted all those millions of dollars on that high school. My kids are going to the new high school in Kalispell.’”

“That is unforgivable. That has got to be something we address.”

As the district begins its search for a new superintendent, Auerbach says he’s looking for candidates that exert leadership.

“I’m looking for someone with leadership skills that are more than just a check list,” he said “We need someone who is focused and unafraid. And that’s not to suggest anything about the outgoing superintendent.”

If elected, he would like the school board to study other successful schools across the country.

“We should look to distinctive high schools in the U.S. and see what they’re doing and see if we’re doing something similar,” he said.

He believes the district’s emphasis on arts and technology is worthwhile and says the workforce is ripe with opportunity in those areas.

“There is sadness anytime there is a budget that has negatively impacted the arts and sciences,” he said.

“We must support [students] who have passions in those areas.”

He says teachers need to feel valued and be compensated fairly.