School board race: Dean Chisholm

Editor’s note: This year four people are running for three seats in the School District 6 board election. The following are their views on education and serving on the board. Ballots were mailed out to registered voters last week. There is no walk-in vote due to concerns about spreading novel coronavirus.

Dean Chisholm

Tell us a little bit about yourself, what you do for a living, family, etc

I’m the father of three children, Henry, Ava and Eddie Mae. My wife, Penni, is a Columbia Falls native and a 1985 graduate of the Columbia Falls High School. We’ve lived in Columbia Falls since 1996. Henry graduated from Columbia Falls in 2015 and the University of Montana in 2019 and is a sports journalist for DNVR in Denver, Colorado. Ava graduated from Columbia Falls in 2018 and is a sophomore at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. Eddie Mae is a freshman at Columbia Falls. Penni and I are attorneys at Chisholm & Chisholm, PC in Columbia Falls.

Why are you running for the School District 6 board?

The trustee’s job is to provide the best education reasonably possible to each and every child in the community. There aren’t many better ways to spend your time.

What are your qualifications?

My primary qualifications are that I care about kids and believe that the quality of education that is offered to them can transform their lives. Beyond that, I’ve been fortunate to serve and advise numerous governments, charities, and corporations since the 1990s. I think I’ve developed a decent ability to see through fads and buzzwords and personalities so that I’m more likely to make decisions based on credible evidence and numbers. I’ve been a trustee since 2004.

What’s your greatest concern with Columbia Falls education?

As with any organization, or family, or individual, the greatest concern changes from year-to-year or month-to-month. Currently, the greatest concern is marshaling our resources so that we can provide quality education and support under the COVID-19 constraints. A couple of years ago, it was fighting off computer hackers. But the most frequent concerns tend to be economic: How do we best assist the students who come from homes that lack economic security? Which programs do we choose to support with taxpayer dollars? How do we improve efficiencies so that we can afford to provide the most effective resources to our teachers?

How can Columbia Falls schools be improved?

We can continue to improve in a number of areas. Over the past few years our staff has focused on identifying the children who are at risk of falling behind academically because of physical, mental or social impediments and then providing early and meaningful intervention. We’ve seen success, but there is always room for improvement. We have some very bright and talented kids in our system, and we need to make sure that our classrooms are challenging and rewarding for them. As the economy changes, I think it’s important that our college and career counseling efforts keep pace. And we can always find a way to be a little kinder.

Do you have any goals you’d like to see the district accomplish during your tenure?

We are in the middle of some major construction projects that will be completed during the next three years. I think we’re off to a great start, but we’ll need to make some critical decisions to keep us on track. We’ve added several electives at the high school, particularly in science. That has been well-received by our students and their families and I’d like to see that trend continue.

We have some very talented teachers who are at their best when they have the space to be creative and I’d like to help improve the policies and technologies that support them.