Four parents are immediately filing as candidates for the school board in Billings School District 2 with the opening of candidate filing on December 9. They are parents who realized at the beginning of school in the fall, that they had “turned their heads” for far too long when it came to paying attention to what happens in School District 2, said Shannon Johnson, who will be filing as a candidate for Zone 3 in the Heights. Deadline for filing for school district board positions is March 24.
Spurring the four to run was their experiences in attempting to get their voices heard with the board regarding the issue of requiring students to wear masks at the start of the school year. In their attempt to speak at school board meetings, “We felt our voices were not being heard,” said Johnson, who along with the three other parents formed a loose knit organization to make changes. The group quickly grew to about 2000 of “like-minded parents,” according to Johnson.
Other candidates are Kristen Gilfeathers who is filing for Zone 5, Chad Nelson filing in Zone 4, and John Vonlangen who will be filing for Zone 7. All candidates have children in school, said Johnson.
Johnson said that they do not know who else might be filing or whether any incumbents will file, but it appears likely that there will be an election on May 4, marking the first school board election in School District 2 since 2016. Current board members have either been uncontested or appointed to vacancies, reflecting the lack of public interest in the school district that has led to the weak representation that parents have, said Johnson. “We have turned our heads before and have realized it is important to get involved.”
Last fall, following a school board meeting where the parents believed they were not being heard by the board, a group of parents wound up meeting in a park where “we decided we wanted to work together and support one another. None of us have ever done anything like this before. We are just working parents with children and never got involved before and realized it was important to give parents their voice back,” said Johnson. “We wanted to be involved in our kids’ education, and we want an environment where they can survive.”
Johnson said that it appeared at the board meetings that “the board was trying to make changes so no one knew what was happening.” There was a lack of transparency. “We feel transparency is important,” said Johnson. “I will require transparency if I am elected.”
Johnson will be challenging incumbent Greta Besch-Moen If she files for re-election. Besch-Moen has served on the board for eleven years. A term on the School District 2 board is three years. There are members of the board who have been there for several terms, according to Johnson.” They have all been in longer than probably necessary, and it is time for change, and we have stepped forward to try to accomplish that.”
Johnson has two children in high school. She has an extensive background in business and is trained in traditional naturopathy about which she is an author. She also has her own coffee business – Campfire Blend Coffee. She works for SCL Health as a director of operations for clinics in rural areas. She is a native of Billings, although she and her husband, who is a policeman, lived for a period in Boise, ID.
