Meet Libby School Trustee candidate Tony Rebo Sr.

School trustee elections for south Lincoln County are being held Tuesday, May 6. The Western News is publishing information about the candidates for the benefit of our readers. Candidates were emailed and their responses are listed below. 

Name: Tony Rebo Sr.

Occupation: Facility Manager, Safety Security Officer at CPMC

Family: Married to Brenda Rebo, Son- JR Rebo, Daughter- Teri Bershneider, Daughter Jessica Ames, and Daughter Ashley Hoffman.

Background: Long time Libby, Montana native. Born and raised here. I graduated from the Libby High Scholl as well as all four of my children. I have been actively involved in the local system for over 35 years as a volunteer in the classroom, I have volunteered in many of the sporting programs and have driven the bus for golf, wrestling and softball during their respective seasons. I currently for the past 27 years have been the voice of the “Loggers” during sporting events. 

Other boards: Currently serve as the President of the CPMC Foundation Board (21 years as a board member). I also sit on the Board of Directors for Cabinet View Golf Course (9 years). I serve on the executive committee of the Montana Society for Health Care Engineers (22 years). I am a past Libby School Board Trustee; I served during the duration of when we had to consolidate the schools into two buildings.

Why do you want to serve as a school trustee? 

My first thought is because I again want to be part of a great team. We are lucky to have such a great group of teachers here in Libby, I know that not everything is perfect, and we have room to grow and improve, but all in all they do a great job. 

My experience in the past working on the school board will give me an advantage in the workings of the board itself. I also manage a $1 million department budget working for the hospital, as well as a $2million Foundation endowment.

What is the top issue facing the district and what would you do to solve it? 

Financial stability is probably going to be the biggest hurdle for sure. Because of the lack of timber monies, as well as Libby not having the advantage of mining and oil funds, we are surely facing challenges. I don’t want to see programs cut, especially the ones that are keeping our youth engaged in an activity and out of trouble. 

I don’t have the exact answer on how to fix this, without working with and having a complete understanding of our spendings now. I look forward to working on this issue with the rest of the board. My goal is to work through the details without having to have the public pick up the tab by having a mill levy. However, sometimes the only solution may be to ask the public for help. 

I just feel that if we do ask, we should have a comprehensive plan and a solid reason for doing so, and that would only come after we have exhausted all other options. The last time I served on the board we passed a levy, we informed the public of the why, and the gave the public as much information as was asked.