District prioritizes student rights and individual needs

The following are my personal views as a parent. I do not write on behalf of the Whitefish School District. However, as someone familiar with the situation, I feel compelled to respond to Mike Koopal’s over-the-top screed published in last week’s Pilot (It's your school too, Sept. 4) alleging mistreatment of his son by the Whitefish School District and inferring that it should bear on the school bond election.

First, though, I need to point out that because I have more respect for the privacy interests of Koopal’s son than his father apparently has, I am not at liberty to share the kind of detail that a thorough response would require. In my opinion, Mike’s representations are incomplete, inaccurate, self-absorbed and in total disregard for the interests of other students who also have rights to a secure quality education.

For years, I’ve observed in silence as Mike Koopal has shown up at school board meetings to, in my opinion, verbally assault our volunteer school board and insult our hard-working teachers and administrators publicly while simultaneously asking them to approve his son as an out-of-district student so he could benefit from all Whitefish School District offers, despite not contributing his own tax dollars to the resources and programs that make our schools such a great place to learn. It seems like it’s time to call out his bullying and hypocritical behavior for what it is.

You don't have to be a law expert to know that having "settled" a lawsuit means nothing more than that the defending organization decided they could "settle" for less than what it would cost them to go to court over what may or may not have been outrageous accusations. In other words, it's possible that our school district decided they weren't willing to waste any more money on frivolous lawsuits from the Koopals because they'd instead prefer to invest our tax dollars in the kids they are committed to serving daily.

Serving students with disabilities has been a lifelong passion of mine. What has kept me coming back to work in the Whitefish School District for the last 16 years is the unwavering commitment from our administrators, who prioritize not only every student's needs but especially those with the most significant needs. I wish every young person I love with substantial special needs could be fortunate enough to grow up in this school district with the incredible teachers and administrators who prioritize their student rights and individual needs daily.  

I encourage everyone to vote for the upcoming school bond in whatever way they believe best serves the students in this town and the future well-being of our greater community. But whatever you decide, please do not let Mike's angry, bitter and resentful tirade mislead you about the good people and compassionate work being done within our school district.

Christina Trieweiler is a parent of three Whitefish School District students.