Five in the running for three Libby school board seats

Five candidates are vying for a spot on Libby School Board, which will hold an election May 3. 

The terms of John Carlson, Alida Leigh and Les Nelson are expiring. Nelson is not seeking re-election. 

Newcomers Jason Harmon, Wayne Baker and Roshaun Valentine have all thrown their hats into the ring in the election. 

Incumbent Carlson, 54, is finishing his first three-year term on the board. Carlson is a biologist of the U.S. Forest Service who has three sons who graduated from Libby High School and one daughter who is a junior at the school. 

“We’ve been fairly active in the schools,” Carlson said. 

Carlson said the board’s biggest accomplishment was getting Craig Barringer to be superintendent after his longtime outstanding predecessor retired. 

“When he announced his retirement it kind of put us back on our heels,” Carlson said.  “I’m excited about what (Barringer’s) got on track for our schools.” 

Carlson said if he is re-elected he would really like to see Barringer’s collaborative work with the Troy school district to establish a vocational welding and automotive program come to fruition. 

“That’s one of the things we’ve been kind of missing,” Carlson said. 

Fellow incumbent Alida Leigh is also excited to see the automotive program take off in the fall. 

“I really feel like we are headed in the right direction,” Leigh said. 

Leigh, 38,  has been serving on the board since December 2015, when her predecessor was unable to complete her term. 

“I pretty much decided that I wanted to be an involved parent,” Leigh said. “I’ve got a daughter in sixth grade and I just wanted to be involved in her education decisions.” 

Leigh is a cosmetologist at Fusion Hair Design. 

Baker, a Libby resident for over 30 years, is returning to Libby Public Schools after one year of retirement. Baker spent his 30-year tenure in Libby as an athletic director and teacher.  

“I’m not going in there with a particular agenda,” Baker said. “I think there are some good things ahead for Libby.”

One need Baker does see in school district is repairs to facilities. Baker currently has three grandchildren in Libby schools. He wants to see the school facilities repaired to allow the school district to educate more generations of Libby families. Baker said during rainstorms in his time at Libby High School, the staff would often place buckets around the facility to catch falling water where the roofing evidently needed repairs. The issue, he said, is Libby residents haven’t been willing to pass a tax levy in 14 years.

“Libby is unique because we have a large section of the population is older and on fixed income,” he said. “It’s tough for folks and I understand that. You’ve got to get out and talk to people. The more you make the community feel like they’re part of the school system, the better off you are.”

He’s had time to assess the economics regarding Libby residents and knows passing a levy for upgrades would require the school board to develop trust with the community. The route to developing that trust, he said, is to reach out to the community and invite the public to weigh in on school board affairs.

Valentine, another newcomer to the school board election, agreed that putting the blighted school areas in front of the community would help initiate a vote a to pass the $4.1 million levy.

“Take them on a tour,” Valentine said. “If I can show them and let them see what needs to be replaced, from a teacher’s standpoint and the children’s point of view, by stepping out of the authority part and into the civilian part, maybe I can change some people’s minds. Fourteen years is a long time.”

Valentine moved to Libby with his family in 2009 and has two children enrolled in the elementary school. He said he’s got several goals he wants to accomplish for the school district, like addressing bullying, cracking down on dress codes and simply giving students a better environment to determine where their lives are headed.

“I don’t want our generations to just grow up and be lost if we can prevent that,” Valentine said. “If I can help prevent that and have the public and the families back me, we’re unstoppable.”

The fifth candidate, Jason Harmon, did not return phone calls to The Western News prior to publication.

Barringer said in his mind, the perfect school board candidate must know their role as a school board trustee. The school board consistently faces issues with the budget and facilities, and must have a comprehensive understanding of school policies, he said.

“The role of a good board member is not the day-to-day activities, but making sure that policy is being followed. They have a global view of our district,” Barringer said.

Barringer said newcomers can look to the current board to understand what unites a strong board of trustees.

“Right now, Libby has a very good board. They have good discussions and they have a good understanding of what’s going on in the district,” he said.