Five face off in race for two school board seats: Holden

Michele Holden is running for a seat on the Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees for a three-year term.

Five candidates are vying for two three-year terms, with the top two vote-getters taking the seats.

Holden said she has a bachelor's degree in political science, a master's degree in human rights law and a degree in counseling education, which she's made use of as a mental health therapist for children.

She said her experience in this field has prepared her for this position on the board.

"I think I'm pretty good at listening and coming up with creative solutions," she said.

Holden said the biggest problem the schools face is a lack of teacher retention. She said Montana teachers are some of the lowest-payed in the U.S. and COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on them and substantially increased their workload.

"I'm really concerned about teacher burnout. I want to make sure teachers feel supported by the administration, appreciated, and get the things they need to do their jobs," she said. "... I mean when you're a teacher here in Montana you're not doing it because you're going to get paid top dollar, you're doing it because you care about the kids."

She said addressing this problem will require a frank conversation between teachers and the board, but she already has one idea that she thinks might help, a four-day school week with extended school days.

Holden said she's worked with North Star Schools as a mental health professional and their four-day week has been a godsend to student staff and even her.

"Even for my own mental health it has been great having three days off versus two days off. ... I feel like I can spend time with my family and on Monday I'm ready to go to work."

However, she said, such a change is a matter that would require working with the community, because it does mean students are home for another day, and that could lead some people to have understandable reservations, particularly people who already have child care struggles.

She said she thinks organizations like the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line could provide assistance in that regard, but it is an issue that need to be discussed with the community.

Holden said she thinks the schools handled the COVID-19 pandemic about as well as they could have, given the information they had access to, even if their decisions rubbed some people who wanted to do things differently the wrong way.

"With COVID it's not about winning, it's about getting through and surviving it," she said.

Her one criticism was that she thought it didn't make much sense to go back to a five-day week for the K-five students with only one month of the school year left, though she said it's not an issue she wants to relitigate.

Holden said as long as the Hill County Health Department and the Centers of Disease Control recommend it she will support having students wear masks in school for the sake of public safety.

She said she hopes to be part of a school board that takes an active role in the district, working with the administration, but also holding them accountable and not rubber stamping everything they propose.