The results of the local school board election are in! The winner, by a wide margin, is Marlee Sunchild. There were a total of 10,108 votes cast in the three-way race between Sunchild, Rodney Meyers and Tony Rosales. Marlee Sunchild received more than half the total vote at 5,668 with Meyers getting 2,568 and Rosales a distant third place at 1,755. Congratulations Marlee Sunchild!
Back in early April, we wrote a blog post pointing out that most of the Libertarians who filed to run for legislature were removed from the ballot by the Commissioner of Political Practices for failing to file the paperwork required by law. We also pointed out that the current chair of the local Libertarian Party, Tony Rosales, was the treasurer for all of those candidates. The campaign treasurer’s main responsibility is to make sure the campaign is complying with legal filing and reporting requirements. Obviously, Rosales fell short of meeting those pretty simple obligations. https://wtf406.com/2024/04/cascade-countys-loopy-libertarians/
Rosales then appeared as a school board candidate and, in a separate post, we pointed out that allegations he was making about school personnel and policies were a bunch of baloney. https://wtf406.com/2024/04/school-board-candidate-attacks-gfps-employee-in-tik-tok-video/
The local Libertarian Party posted a response on the platform formally known as Twitter. The post said that the author of the post, Ken Toole, missed some “transmittal deadlines” 20 years ago when he served in the Montana Senate, implying that Toole should not criticize others for missing deadlines. The fact of the matter is that virtually all legislators have some bills that do not make the transmittal deadline. Take Randy Pinocci for example. In 2015, when he served in the House of Representatives, he had four bills that failed to make the “transmittal deadline.” Unfortunately, if Tony Rosales’ School Board campaign is any indication, facts and accuracy are simply unimportant to Cascade County Libertarians.
We can’t be sure Rosales is the author of the post. It was submitted under the name of the Cascade County Libertarians without author attribution. We assume that, since he is the chairperson, he was aware of it and approved of its content. In a message to Jasmine Taylor, who also writes posts for WTF406.com, the Libertarians ask her to let Toole know their response is, “Go make us a fucking sandwich Ken.” Wow! Haven’t heard anything quite that clever since 8th grade. Do we really want Tony Rosales on the School Board?
In a bid to promote his own campaign, School Board candidate Tony Rosales has been issuing a series of attacks on the administration of the Great Falls School District. While it probably takes Tony a few minutes to come up with his phony accusations, the district has clearly spent a lot of time and effort to set the record straight. And that’s too bad, because the staff has more important things to do than replying to weird accusations from a wanna-be politician.
Is This Really How We Want School Personnel Spending Their Time?
The Electric published a good story that takes Rosales’ accusations point by point and covers the district’s response. What becomes clear from this most recent story is that Rosales either doesn’t know what he is talking about or doesn’t care what the facts are, as long as he throws dirt on dedicated public employees to further his own political campaign. Probably a bit of both. For the complete story, follow this link to the Electric’s article. https://theelectricgf.com/2024/04/10/gfps-responds-to-concerns-from-board-candidate/
One of Rosales’ central accusations against the district is that a staff member, Lance Boyd, sits on the board of Peace Place, a local nonprofit dedicated to providing respite care for disabled children. Peace Place is a great program that gives parents time to do shopping and other tasks that can be very difficult for parents of kids with special needs. Rosales asserted that this was a conflict of interest since other providers of similar services in the community did not get that “business” from the district, with the implication being that funding was being channeled unfairly to Peace Place.
Hey Tony, Who’s Got a Conflict of Interest?
Responding to questions from the Electric, Rosales said that he discovered this “conflict of interest” at a local meeting on autism and decided to challenge the district. Rosales posted that it was a conflict of interest for Boyd to serve on the board, as the district refers students to Peace Place and pays for those services. He said that he heard about the situation from another provider who was at the meeting.”
The other provider, who was apparently complaining that he was not getting referrals from the district, is Kevin Leatherbarrow, the owner of Go and Grow. The district explained that it was not referring to them, because Leatherbarrow had previously told him they did not want to accept federal funding which the district receives.
Tony Rosales is the Chair of the local Libertarian Party. Leatherbarrow ran as a Libertarian for the Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2020. Leatherbarrow has filed to run for the legislature in this election cycle, again as a Libertarian. Rosales also filed to run for the legislature as a Libertarian in this cycle but withdrew, apparently to run for school board. Tony Rosales is currently serving as Kevin Leatherbarrow’s campaign treasurer.
If you liked the controversy and paralysis which took over county government after electing aggressive anti-government conspiracy theorists Rae Grulkowski and Sandra Merchant, you might want to consider voting for Tony Rosales. But if you want the school district to remain focused on its job, educating our kids, vote for Marlee Sunchild.
School Board Candidate Tony Rosales recently released a Tik Tok video making vague allegations against a school district employee. Rosales notes that the employee is also on the board of Peace Place. He then questions if the superintendent and school district know about this educator’s affiliation with the nonprofit organization. He concludes by seemingly implying a conflict of interest as the Peace Place has “employees,” and, therefore, the school district employee has some sort of “obligation.” While Rosales tries to frame this video as some sort of “gotcha,” his arguments don’t hold up to even the slightest scrutiny.
Firstly, volunteering is a good thing. Many educators also give their time to the community through volunteering, and serving on a board is one way to do that. Peace Place provides respite care for parents of children with disabilities and other qualifying needs. It’s a fantastic resource for caregivers, and it’s worthy of your support. Learn about their services here: https://peaceplacegf.com/
Now, on to Rosales’ concerns. The educator under fire is on a volunteer board for an organization that helps children. Supporting such organizations is highly consistent with the work educators already do. If an educator is aware of resources that could help a family, it’s appropriate to share those resources. As a volunteer, the educator isn’t receiving any personal financial benefit for connecting people with resources (if this is even occurring. Rosales offers no evidence of such, but the implication is there.)
What’s more telling than the vague and ambiguous nature of Rosales’ accusations is Rosales’ own conduct in relation to the school and his campaign. Rosales volunteers with a GFPS Speech and Debate team. Rosales is presently running for the school board. In a display of hypocrisy, Rosales found it appropriate to use his volunteer role as an opportunity to further his political career. Rosales emailed numerous candidates and elected officials on behalf of the Speech and Debate team. In the email, he asks the invitees to participate in a “debate” event with his students.
So let’s recap. According to Rosales, it’s inappropriate for a school employee to volunteer on a nonprofit board on his own personal time. However, it’s somehow totally appropriate for Rosales to use his volunteer role at the school to recruit politicians to speak at his event. Rosales’ behavior looks far more like a conflict of interest than the conduct of the school employee Rosales targeted.
A final but compelling comparator is Rosales’ response to the city commission’s coming safety committee. This group is essentially a list of the current commissioner’s closest pals. The most glaring cronyism is seen with the appointment of Jeni Dodd. Dodd and Commissioner Rick Tryon are close collaborators, with both writing for the hate blog, E-City Beat. E City Beat. Dodd is equally cozy with Commissioner Joe McKenney McKinney. Now, despite a total lack of expertise and any relevant qualifications, Dodd will be giving input on of possible future levies and even budget management. Dodd’s presence on the committee is a fantastic example of an actual and alarming conflict of interest. Rosales is surely aware of this issue, as he too is slated to be on the committee.
Rosales is clearly willing to throw an educator under the bus in the hopes of gaining popularity for his campaign. Yet, he doesn’t apply the same standard of conduct for himself, or his friends on the city commission.
Should Rosales somehow be elected to the school board, how could he expect any GFPS employee to trust him?
OOOOPS!
Republican candidate for Superintendent of Schools, Susie Hedalen, recently published this endorsement ad on Facebook. Aside from using a photo of an anti-public education Governor, can you spot what’s wrong with this picture?
Remember, dear Susie is hoping we’ll elect her to run our public schools. Does this “endorsement annoucment” fill you with confidence in Susie’s skills?
Schools across the nation are facing a teacher shortage and Montana is feeling the squeeze as well. Recent laws passed by Montana’s supermajority-Republican legislature seek to divert tax funding to private charter schools, and wage stagnation makes retaining teachers and faculty an ongoing challenge. Now Great Falls Public Schools face another hurdle- the extremely low wages paid to their office staff. Anyone working a full time job deserves livable wages, and that’s what GFPS office staff are now demanding.
Read the full statement from the Great Falls Association of Office Personnel Union here:
(GREAT FALLS, MONT.) – The Great Falls Association of Office Personnel, a union of school office staff affiliated with the Montana Federation of Public Employees, has requested the assistance of a state mediator in ongoing contract negotiations. Sixty-four office staff members in Great Falls Public Schools have worked without a contract since their previous agreement expired June 30th.
Requesting a state mediator from the Department of Labor and Industry comes in response to a breakdown in contract negotiations between the school district and office staff. Offers from the district–most recently an additional $0.64 an hour–fail to honor the integral role office staff play supporting and protecting students, families, and faculty throughout the district. This most recent offer also fails to recognize and repair a decades-old pay scale that has been made inadequate by the increased cost-of-living in Great Falls. The first mediation is scheduled for Thursday, October 26th.
“Currently, when we start working for the district, we make between $13.59 and $16.73,” said Association of Office Personnel President Daneen Pate. “After 25 years of service to this district, the most we can earn is between $16.42 and $19.53 an hour. These wages are no longer livable, they don’t keep pace with other school districts, and they’re not fair market value. We’re fighting for a fair contract because we love the students in our care and the district shouldn’t force us to choose between them and putting food on our families’ tables.”
Office staff are often the faces of their schools. They’re the first to greet students, caring for them when they’re sick or acting out. Parents and families interact with office staff daily, relying on them for timely updates and assistance. Office staff also help with scheduling, record keeping, finances, school activities, and attendance. Despite fulfilling their important roles with commitment and skill, the school district’s most recent offer would mean that, on average, office staff would make only $30,261 per contract year. Their counterparts across the state average $41,744 annually. The average Great Falls administrator makes $107,564 per year.
An average entry level administrative assistant at Malmstrom’s Delta Solutions makes between $44,000 and $56,000. New administrative assistants at Montana Highway Patrol and Montana’s average fast-food worker earn over $42,000 in a 2,080-hour year of work.
In the lead up to mediation on October 26th, the Association of Office Personnel have shown solidarity by wearing buttons reading ‘What Would You Do Without Us? Worth more than 64¢’ and black shirts every Wednesday. Members, with the support of other district faculty and staff, will continue these activities, and, if necessary, ramp them up as they continue to bargain for a livable wage.