Vetter Ehrenberg enters school board election as write-in

With less than 48 hours before ballots are due, Joan Vetter Ehrenberg has entered the Whitefish School Board election as a write-in candidate.

Vetter Ehrenberg, 54, sent an email at 12:45 a.m. Sunday declaring her candidacy. Ballots are due to be returned by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5.

Two three-year terms are open in Whitefish.

Board chair Pat Jarvi announced early on that she was campaigning for re-election. Marguerite Kaminski and Bob Auerbach also have entered the election.

Vetter Ehrenberg said she was asked Saturday to run as a write-in candidate to add another option to the ballot.

“Everyone values the service of Pat Jarvi, but folks are less enthused about the other two options,” Vetter Ehrenberg told the Pilot.

“It’s time to step up to the plate,” she said.

“I’m tired of complaining and not putting my money where my mouth is.”

With mail-in ballots sent out in April, she admits it will be tight to win a spot on the board with a 36-hour campaign.

“I’ll win by five votes or lose by five votes,” she said.

Vetter Ehrenberg is a political consultant and most recently worked on the campaign to raise Whitefish’s resort tax to fund a conservation easement in Haskill Basin.

She also worked on the campaign to pass a $14 million bond to construct the new Whitefish High School.

“I feel some ownership in the high school because of my involvement in running that campaign and passing the bond,” she said.

Vetter Ehrenberg grew up in New York. She briefly attended Sweet Briar College in Virginia, and also studied at the New York Institute of Technology for two years.

She moved to Whitefish in 1991 and met her late husband Ted while sailboat racing in Somers. Together they have a daughter, Kate, who is a junior at Whitefish High School.

She spent five years with the Whitefish Convention and Visitor Bureau and two years with the Whitefish PTA’s after-school arts and theater education program.

“I love our town and am passionate about it,” she said.

She said the primary reason she is running is because of the “deep respect and admiration” she has for the current school board.

“They are all rock stars,” she said.

Still, Vetter Ehrenberg is quick to rattle off a list of areas where the school district could improve.

She questions the costs of a proposed renovation at Muldown Elementary and says the district budget needs tighter oversight and review.

The relationship between teachers and administrators also needs work.

“It’s a sin that we’ve been in contract negotiations for what seems like an eternity,” she said.

Despite those concerns, she said Whitefish remains a strong school district.

“I am fortunate enough to raise my daughter through this public education system where she has received a phenomenal foundation,” she said.

She said the search for a new superintendent is one of the most important tasks facing the board. The ability to communicate is a key trait she’d like to see from candidates.

“Communication is number one,” she said. “The ability to build a broad-based collation between parents, students, teachers, grandparents and business leaders. You have to have it all. The foundation of society is based on public education.”