Superior school board trustee positions open

Four candidates are running for school board trustee. There are two, three year terms available. The candidates are Gayle Hutchins, Jason McLees, Richard Milender and Keith Stockard.

QUESTIONS ASKED

Question 1. Please tell us briefly about yourself.

Question 2: Why do you want to be a Trustee?

Question 3: What do you see as the strengths of Superior Schools?

Question 4: What do you see as the challenges faced by Superior Schools?

Question 5: How will you work with the community to represent their interests on the Board?

Question 6: What characteristics do you believe are important for a Trustee?

Question 7: On what basis will you make decisions as a Trustee?

Question 8: What areas or issues are you especially interested in working on as a Trustee?

Question 9: Anything to add in closing?

 RICHARD MILENDER RESPONSES

Question 1. Milender: I'm a family man with four kids and a very patient wife. I work for a large general contractor in Missoula as a Superintendent. I graduated from Superior High School in 1990. After graduating I went to several different colleges and worked in several different states, but have always come back to Superior. My wife and I both have family in Mineral County.

Question 2: Milender: I want to be involved - to have a voice. Next year, I'll have three children in school. I want to make sure that not only they have as good an education that I received, but that all students that attend Superior have a good education. I can't complain if I'm not involved.

Milender: It's all about community here. I'm interacting, as a parent, with teachers that taught me 20 years ago. The technology and business sides of the school are way beyond what we had back then, it's very impressive.

Question 4: Milender: I mentioned it last year - numbers. The recession has finally hit Montana full force and we're seeing that in the smaller communities across the state. People are leaving because they don't have work. That's taking kids away from our school which, in turn, takes money away from our programs. The State is making more cuts in funding, which puts a larger burden on the taxpayers, who are overburdened to begin with. The biggest challenge will be trying to keep providing the educational programs with a smaller budget.

Question 5: Milender: I've grown up here, worked here, owned a business here, and am raising a family here. I feel because of my history in the community and my interaction with the community on a daily basis that I share many of the same interests. My door is always open to talk about any issues people are having.

Question 6: Milender: Honesty and integrity. You have to be able to make unbiased decisions based on the information given and look at how that will affect all the different people involved.

Question 7: Milender: As a trustee you are making decisions that directly affect the students, teachers, the community, and the district itself. I can only make those decisions based on the information provided to me by the students, teachers, and community. People need to speak up to be heard.

Question 8: Milender: As mentioned above, working on keeping the educational diversity for our students with an ever-tightening budget. I think this is going to take a huge effort and many compromises in the future.

Question 9: Milender: This last year as a trustee has been educational for me. I'm excited about the opportunity to continue being involved.

GAYLE HUTCHINS

I have lived here for 23 years. My child goes to school here. I am a business owner, a taxpayer and a voter.

We all want a good learning environment for our children with a qualified staff to teach them. The budget is a huge concern right now and I know we are all disappointed to be losing at least one and possibly two of our teachers next year. Teachers are the strength of any school and I know there are more ways to reduce the budget before we lose any more teachers.

I have experience listening to people and seeing all sides of an issue. I am accessible; I want people to let me know their concerns and ideas. I will do the best job I can for you as a school board trustee. I will work hard to make well informed decisions based on what is important to all of us.