Five face off in race for two school board seats: Kennedy-Stiffarm

Jessica Kennedy-Stiffarm, a local public health nurse, 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.

Kennedy-Stiffarm said she would come to the board with a sense of professionalism at all times regardless of any controversy going on and is passionate about education.

"I value service and commitment and believe these are attributes that make a difference in improving the quality of education in our community," she said.

In a letter to the editor earlier this week she said she also has a unique perspective to bring the board and she's finally in a position to do so.

"I am now at a place in my life where I feel I can give back to the community," she said. "I can offer a unique perspective to the board; I am a person of color, an Indigenous woman and a mother of children who attend school in the district."

Kennedy-Stiffarm said in the op-ed that she and her husband have lived in Havre for the last 14 years and both grew up on the Hi-Line.

She said her primary concern as a member of the board will be ensuring educational equity among all students, addressing their specific needs in the wake of a very difficult year.

"I want to look back on the past year and see what we can learn from it," she said. "... What can we build upon and improve."

She said the COVID-19 pandemic has forced students and teachers into difficult positions, having to adapt to a new style of learning and not everyone has adjusted to it in the same way.

Kennedy-Stiffarm said students and their families face unique challenges that may affect them differently, especially families that have multiple children, poor wifi access, complicated work situations, and fewer economic resources.

Students aren't necessarily going to start off on the same ground socially, economically, emotionally, or academically, she said, and it's the schools job to figure out what they all need.

Students need the same opportunity not the same treatment, she said.

In her letter to the editor she said she has high expectations for quality teaching and learning that will support strong student outcomes and she hopes to help the board form specific goals that will move the district forward while supporting extracurricular programs from drama and speech and debate to basketball and tennis.

"I believe our children should have the best start to life and dream big," she said in the op-ed. "Quality education is part of that foundation."

Kennedy-Stiffarm said the schools handled the COVID-19 situation well, at least from her perspective working at the Hill County Health Department collaborating with them, and as a parent.

These are hard decisions they to make and they did a great job, she said.

Kennedy-Stiffarm said she hopes to be a voice for the community and wants people to talk to her about their needs from the schools.