School District 6 Board Race: Jonathan Foust

Editor’s note: There are five candidates running for three seats on the School District 6 Board of Trustees this year. Barb Riley and Keri Hill are incumbents. Incumbent Dean Chisholm opted not to run for re-election. The following are their answers to e-mailed questions by the Hungry Horse News. Ballots were mailed out Monday.

Tell us about yourself;

I was born and raised in Hamilton so I’ve lived in Montana all of my life except for the times I was deployed for military service. I moved to the Flathead Valley in 2000 and married my wife, Dawn Foust in 2002 who is a graduate of CFHS.

Occupation/Education/Background

I currently work in maintenance at the Montana Veterans Home

After high school, I joined the military and I am currently a Sergeant First Class in the U.S. Army Reserve with 22 years of military service

Current member of American Legion Post 72, Honor Guard for United Veterans of Flathead Valley, Past Trustee for Board of Evergreen Fire, Past President of AFSME Local 256 Union, and EMT/firefighter of Evergreen Volunteer Fire and Rescue for 10 years

Do you have children Attending school District 6?

My daughter graduated in 2019 and my son is currently a sophomore at CFHS.

Why Are You Running?

I have a strong desire for community service. I want to represent the teachers, students and taxpayers of my community. My goal is to make sure our teachers have the support they need and ensuring our students’ success while being fiscally responsible for all tax dollars.

Are there any changes you’d like to see in curriculum?

Curriculum is constantly changing and it’s a must that the board review it to make sure the students are being taught appropriately. I believe it’s the school board’s responsibility to make sure our students are learning accurately while getting the most bang for the tax dollar.

What are your greatest assets?

With 22 years in the military, I have developed strong leadership skills, integrity, and self-less service.

I’ve always been able to put myself in someone else’s shoes and see both sides of an issue.

With the housing crunch in Columbia Falls, is there anything the district can do to make it easier for teachers to find housing?

The housing crunch is definitely a problem in our valley right now. It not only affects the teachers but it’s affecting the taxpayers and the students. More and more students are facing homelessness. If you raise the teaching salary, you raise the needed tax dollars so there’s no good answer. I would say if you have the solution to this problem than you should definitely be on the school board.