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School board candidates profiled

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RONAN – Ronan School District will be holding its annual school election through mail ballot by May 3.  Darrell Clairmont and Adina Fuchs will be filing for one, one-year position, while Mark Clary, Roger Romero, and Wendy Thingelstad are filing for two, three-year positions for District 30.

Mark Clary

Trustee Mark Clary has served on the board for more than nine years. According to Clary, his top priority is making sure children get a quality education. Clary says that the biggest issue the board will face this upcoming year will most likely be budget cuts, depending on what the legislature decides.

Clary is the water superintendent for Ronan, as well as the fire chief. He has lived 43 of his 44 years in Ronan.

Wendy Thingelstad 

Trustee Wendy Thingelstad has served on the board for one year, and says she wants to make sure that the community gets the education they want. 

“I’ve been part of this community my whole life,” Thingelstad said, “I feel obligated to serve my community.”

She says that in her one year on the board, much has been accomplished through goal settings and team building.

“I’ve worked hard to set goals for the school district,” she said.

Thingelstad says the transition from class A to class B will be one of the main challenges for the upcoming year. Also important to Thingelstad is raising the graduation rate, along with keeping students in school.

Thingelstad works as a Geographic Information Systems Coordinator for Lake County and has lived in Ronan most of her life.

Roger Romero

Trustee Roger Romero has served on the board for seven of the past eight years. He says over the years as a school board member he has accomplished a lot of goals to improve the quality of education. He says that a big issue he wants to address is bullying.

“I think we need to put more emphasis on it,” Romero said.

Romero has called Ronan home for the past 20 years, and works as a data processing manager.

Adina Fuchs

This would be Adina Fuchs’ first time serving on the school board. She says it’s important to support the education system, and to be prepared to tackle whatever issues may come up. 

She says that funding for schoolteachers is one of the main issues that will be faced in the coming year, depending on legislation. She also stated that education is always important.

“I want to assure the quality of education for our students,” Fuchs said, “It’s very important.”

Fuchs is a retired human resource manager for the Ronan Telephone Company, and is currently operating a private business called Big Sky Leadership.

Darrell Clairmont

This would be Clairmont’s first time serving on the school board, and he says he is excited to see how things are run. 

“I want to make good decisions on things that come up,” Clairmont said.

He says that he knows many of the current trustees, and his wife Danna has served in the past, stating he has a general idea of how things work.

Clairmont believes that supporting teachers on their decisions is something he is dedicated to. He also stated that being consistent on disciplinary actions is also important. 

Clairmont has lived in Ronan for 41 years, and is a prescribed fire and fuel specialist for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

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