School District 6 Board Race: TJ Middlesworth

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:

Occupation/Education/Background/Education

I grew up in the Flathead Valley and graduated from Bigfork High School in 2000. After high school I went on to play collegiate basketball at Linfield University in Oregon, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in Finance with a minor in Economics. Since college I have earned two professional designations - Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). I currently own my own business, an independent financial advisory practice where I manage my clients’ investments and plan for their futures. I also maintain a leadership role for a community bank in eastern Washington, where I was Chief Investment Officer prior to moving back to Montana. I have been married to my college sweetheart, Aven, since 2005.

Do you have children attending School District 6?

We have three daughters in SD6; two at CFJH and one at Ruder. All are active in sports.

Why are you running?

Over the past couple of years I have been fortunate to coach girls basketball in both our recreation league and our junior high program. Learning to transfer knowledge of basketball into teaching and coaching, in addition to being around kids in schools, was fulfilling and inspiring. While I would not be able to continue coaching if elected, I believe that serving as trustee will offer similar fulfillment, as the decisions we make will have a wide-ranging impact on our student population, our staff and our community. I can’t think of a better way to get involved and drive a positive impact in our schools than to run for school board.

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

I don’t have any specific changes I would like to see in our curriculum. I support internship and advanced coursework opportunities for our students, and anything that promotes active, healthy habits. As a board member, I would take the approach of evaluating, researching, and asking clarifying questions about proposed curriculum. I trust the professionals we have hired to maintain expertise in creating and choosing curriculum, and I support their efforts in doing so.

What are your greatest assets?

I am an invested community member who pledges to keep the interests of our students, teachers/staff, and community at the forefront of the decision-making process. I believe that my background in finance/economics, my dedication to research, and my relentless drive and sense of duty to find creative solutions to financial challenges will be an asset to our schools.

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

I think this may be the single-largest long-term challenge our district faces. Balancing the need to attract and retain high quality staff with the responsibility to be a financial steward of district funds is crucial to a school district’s success. Without housing affordability, the hiring pool of candidates from which to choose becomes much smaller. I understand the solution will likely be quite complex, but a good start would be to partner with local developers and other organizations to earmark housing for district staff. I do believe that we can figure out something creative to help our teachers, and I would be committed to putting forth this effort as a trustee.