Meet trustee candidate Marquerite Kaminski

Marguerite Kaminski wants to challenge the Whitefish School Board with fresh ideas.

“I probably have an outsider’s view and I think it’s good to have a lots of diverse views on the board,” she said. “The more you can bring to the board from other places and walks of life, the better.”

Kaminski is seeking one of two available trustee seats in the May election. She made an unsuccessful bid for the board during the 2014 election.

Born in Mt. Vernon, N.Y., and raised mostly in rural New Hampshire on a 100 acre farm, she graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in economics and a minor in German.

Kaminski went through the U.S. Air Force officer training program in 1973, and became a contracting officer, price analyst and contract negotiator. She later went on to study law and currently is licensed in New Mexico, Montana and Colorado.

She moved to Whitefish in 2006 to work at a local law firm, but instead decided to pursue more outdoor oriented opportunities, working as a snowboard instructor, swim instructor, lifeguard and referee.

Kaminski’s list of school-related volunteer activities is as extensive as it is varied. She has served as a soccer and basketball coach, classroom volunteer, reading mentor, and substitute teacher.

She has five children. Two currently are juniors at the high school and three attend Montana State University.

Kaminski respects the efforts of the current school board, but doesn’t necessarily agree with a few key decisions, including the construction of a new high school and implementation of a block schedule.

“I was never in favor of the block schedule and I’ve already seen it at work,” she said. “I feel like it has a lot of wasted time in the school day. There’s not as much contact with the teachers. Education is more touches on the ball every day. I know that math needs it, foreign language needs it, music needs it.”

While she ultimately voted to approve a bond to build a new high school, she considered remodeling the old school a viable option.

She isn’t a fan of the new two-story building and its smaller classrooms.

“I liked the spread out feel of the old campus,” she said. “I’m not sure we necessarily got what we paid for.”

“[The board] strove to do well, and they did, but in retrospect there are some things we could have done different.”

Facilities and schedules aside, Kaminski says education starts with teachers.

“Teachers have to bring motivation to the job to motivate the students,” she said. “We want world class teachers.”

Recruiting those elite educators starts at the top, she said.

“A superintendent and administration that brings forth enthusiasm will help bring the enthusiasm to the district,” she said.

Choosing a new superintendent is a critical task facing the newly elected board. Kaminski says she is looking for candidates who can foster healthy relationships between administrators and teachers.

“It’s a hard job,” she said. “You’ve got to find the right person with the right chemistry and background.”

The district’s recent emphasis on arts and technology is well considered, Kaminski said.

“Technology is such an important part of the future, and anything into arts I’m a huge proponent of,” she said. “Every student has a gift. Not every student is going to be a mathematician or scientist.”

She uses a sports analogy when describing her philosophy on how the board can improve the district.

“A coach’s job isn’t to develop just the top end players,” she said. “It’s to develop the lower end and the middle — all of the players. I want to create the deepest bench we can in Whitefish.”