Author: ECB Staff

I am running for the school board because I am deeply concerned about the shockingly poor academic performance of the Great Falls Public School system.  

According to the Every Student Succeeds Act report card which can be found on the school district website, only 46% of the students that will graduate this spring from the public high schools in Great Falls are considered ready for either college or career. This is a failure to educate. The ESSA report card also shows that a shocking 73% of the high school students in Great Falls are less than proficient in math, science comes in even worse at 78%, and reading is 62% NOT proficient.  These are young people on the threshold of adulthood, yet stunningly the majority are not considered proficient in the three most basic academic subjects, math, science, and reading. 

I will grant that both the local and national response to covid has impacted education.  It has proven that online school doesn’t work well for most school aged children, especially for those students already struggling. The result is that over half of this year’s graduating seniors will not be career or college ready.

Our school district will face a number of challenges in the coming years, perhaps none more daunting than the recruitment and retention of teachers that can provide the instruction necessary to turn the tide and prepare our youngsters for adulthood.  While there are some efforts to address this, it will continue to be an issue in the years ahead.  Leadership and innovation from the board will be essential for finding solutions to attract and keep the best teachers.  

Parents are rightly concerned with the direction our school system has taken, their voices must be heard and considered.  After all, they are placing their trust in the schools to educate their kids and to keep them safe while doing so.

While academic performance has been allowed to fall, parents have been reporting increased concerns with a slide into a woke agenda of social emotional learning, social grade promotion, social justice, sexualization, identity politics, and mandates.  The priorities of the school system seem to be misdirected and off mission.  We must shift our focus back to academic achievement, classroom attendance, and fulfilling the requirements of a class or course to achieve advancement. 

As a lifelong Montanan, I think it’s essential that we reverse the decline of academic achievement that the ESSA numbers show. My kids go to school here, my family and I live, work, and go to church here. I am a licensed Respiratory Therapist and Clinical Assistant Professor of Respiratory Care for Boise State University, working remotely from my home here in Great Falls, with students all across the nation. I understand the value of education.

  As parents and community members, we must remember the mission of our school system is to “successfully educate students to navigate their futures.” If elected, I pledge I will not forget that mission.

Hello Great Falls residents, 

My name is Michael Nagel and I am running for the Great Falls Public School Board. I have Montana roots for several generations and looking forward to several more to come. I have been married to Kendal my wife for 10 years. Kendal is GFPS School Registered Nurse at North Middle School, and we have 3 children all in the GFPS district. We are blessed to live in the state of Montana and enjoy it thoroughly. 

I work for the Veterans Affairs as a Registered Nurse here in Great Falls and am also a Veteran working at the Montana Air National Guard for past 19 years. I enjoy educating my children about the outdoors and try to maximize outdoor activities all year long. It is important for my wife and I to be a positive influence on our community. We love America, and the freedoms that living here allows us to experience. 

I am running for the GFPS School Board to ensure there is a well-balanced and conventional approach to our children’s education. As a father of 3 in the GFPS school system I am directly impacted by the education being provided to our youth. It has been said politics are downstream of culture, so I would like to take part in cultivating a healthy, accepting culture in our schools by overseeing fact-based curriculum representing wholesome, American family values. 

I appreciate your consideration and humbly ask for your vote this May for the position of GFPS School Board Trustee. 

Sincerely,
Michael Nagel

Amie Thompson, School Board candidate

I am excited to run for the 1-year slot on the GFPS School Board. I am an advocate for student success, teacher support, community partnership, transparency and safe, cost-effective schools. I served on local PTAs for nine years, have volunteered for our public schools for more than 16 years and will complete a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga in August.

I encourage partnerships between families and schools and believe all of our students should have the opportunity to learn and improve in the strongest, safest, fiscally responsible public school system we can provide. I will continue to be an advocate for our teachers, who are now facing unprecedented challenges. I will also promote innovative partnerships between our schools and our community that meet the needs of our workforce and build student life skills.

The biggest challenge facing the district is helping students catch up who fell behind the last couple years. I will work to be a liaison between families and schools as we find creative solutions to make sure this generation is ready to thrive and contribute to a strong society.

I’ve lived in Great Falls since 2003, where my husband, Scott, and I raised our two daughters, Lizzie, 21, and Hallie, 19. The girls attended Great Falls Public Schools. Lizzie is a junior in college, and Hallie is a freshman.

I am the communications coordinator for NorthWestern Energy. When our family can get away, we enjoy hiking together, especially in Glacier National Park.

Find Amie Thompson for School Trustee on Facebook and Instagram.

Here are the candidates running for Great Falls’ school board. We’ve included the emails listed on their candidate registration forms in case our readers want to contact any of them directly with questions or ideas.

Following the list of candidates is information on the upcoming school election from the GFPS website. E-City Beat is sending candidates a request for candidate profiles which we will publish in the coming weeks.

Caitlyn Nash – caitlynnash2022@gmail.com

Michael Nagel – mikenagelrn@gmail.com

Rodney Meyers – rodney_meyers_4_gfps_trustee@windstream.net

Brad Anderson – bwcyclist59@gmail.com

Brian Cayko – briancayko@msn.com

Russell Herring – rherring1978@gmail.com

Scott Jablonski – jablonskis@hotmail.com

Gordon Johnson – orkstra@gmail.com

Finnicum Mark – markfinnicum@gmail.com

Nathan Reiff – ndreiff@gmail.com

Amie Thompson – amiethomp@gmail.com

Paige Turoski – mrs.turoski@gmail.com

‘The following four seats are up for election:

• Three seats that represent both elementary and secondary districts on the board for three years, until May, 2025. Anyone interested in these positions must live within the Great Falls Public School District boundary. The positions are currently held by Mark Finnicum, Jeff Gray, and Gordon Johnson.
• One seat, a one-year position will fill out the remainder of Jan Cahill’s term. Nathan Reiff was appointed by the Board to fill Jan Cahill’s open position until the next regular election.

Candidates will need to declare their intent for either the one-year position or for the three-year terms.

Great Falls Public School trustees are unpaid volunteer positions. Trustees are requested to attend an average of three to four monthly meetings that focus on curricula, policy, budget, administrative issues and other topics.

There are seven trustees on the Great Falls Public School Board. The seven seats represent both the elementary and secondary districts.

For more information, call Brian Patrick at 406-268-6050.

Ballots will be sent out on April 13-18 and in order to be counted, must be received by May 3rd.  Ballots can be mailed back or dropped off at the Cascade County Elections Office until May 3rd.  Voters may also vote in person at Expo Park on May 3rd.   

Ballots may be dropped off at Elections Office at the Courthouse Annex at 325 2^nd Ave North on Monday through Friday from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm before Election Day.  On Election Day, ballots can be dropped off at the Exhibition Hall at the Montana Expo Park 400 3^rd St NW or/and Courthouse Annex from 7:00 am-8:00 pm.’