Tuesday's election brings changes to Libby school board

Two new members were elected to the Libby School Board of Trustees following the election held on Tuesday. Chair Ellen Johnston was elected for another term and Bruce Sickler will no longer be serving after Bobbiegene Zimmerman and Jeff Stevenson were elected to join the board.

The vote breakdown was Zimmerman 730, Johnston 677, Stevenson 640, Sickler 483 and Kenneth Rayome, Jr. 478.

“I’m very happy,” said Johnston about being able to serve another three-year term on the board.

Zimmerman and Stevenson will be sworn in at the regular school board meeting on Monday and the board will reorganize, which means Johnston may or may not retain the position as chair.

The nine school board committees will remain for one month before also reshuffling during a work session.

Johnston said her educational background is an asset for her position on the board. “I also have a little more time to commit since I’m retired,” she said. “I like people and I just enjoy being of service to the district.”

One of Johnston’s short-term goals is to see the Asa Wood kitchen plan reach fruition. She said the kitchen is an important project that would be beneficial for the district.

Johnston said the time is at hand for consideration of more long-term objectives.

 “Board members need to start looking at some very long-term planning for dealing with the aging structures,” she said.

For the new members, Johnston recommends taking advantage of the Montana School Board Associations trainings, which she said are available following board elections.

Johnston said she hopes the board will continue to work together for the interest of the students and will stay focused on education. “Individually we have no power, the power is from the board as a whole.”

Zimmerman said her 30 years of working for the district gives her insight into buildings, teachers, curriculum and the budget.

“The biggest challenge is money,” said Zimmerman. “And there is no one person that can fix that.”

She said the district has been lucky to receive grants enabling upgrades in technology and other programs. But sometimes, federal dictates come down the pike and the money isn’t there to follow the edict, said Zimmerman.

Zimmerman said she is joining the board with a clear slate and hopes to learn where her energy can best be spent. “I know it from one side and now I need to learn it from the other side. We need to listen to all sides, the board can be a dictator.”

Stevenson said he also joins the board without a prescription for the district. “Hopefully I can bring a fresh perspective. I plan to get educated on some of the issues, and I’m certainly willing to do that.”

He said he’s aware of the trends in Libby, being an 18-year resident, but is open to the fact he will probably need to get caught up to speed on the particulars the school board is facing. 

“I really come in with no issues or agenda. I’m excited to get caught up on what is board is working on and participate to make it happen,” Stevenson said.

For Sickler, the election results weren’t much of a surprise. “I kind of saw it going that way,” he said. “Those are three really good candidates, so it worked out well for the district.”

Sickler said he had a good run with the board and enjoyed serving with his fellow members, but he would have liked to spend more time working with the superintendent, a man he has a lot of respect for.

Finding ways to scale down the district while adequately providing for the students is what Sickler is most proud of. “I think the biggest thing was dealing with the downsizing,” he said. “And I felt like we handled that fairly well.”