In a nearly four-hour-long session Tuesday night, the Columbia Falls School District 6 board of trustees interviewed the top three candidates for superintendent.

After 19 years at the helm in Columbia Falls, Superintendent Michael Nicosia will retire at the end of the school year.

The finalists — Craig Barringer, Kim Harding and Steven Bradshaw — were asked 14 questions, ranging from how they would approach the budget in their first year to their views on what makes a good teacher and administrative staff. 

Craig Barringer, the current superintendent of the Conrad School District north of Great Falls, said he has faith in the student body, even though it may not be immediately evident.

“I truly believe that when I enter a classroom, somewhere there is greatness,” he said.

He recalled an unremarkable student at Conrad who eventually went on to get a master’s degree and became a very successful writer. Even though the district is small, with about 570 students, he noted it has two Ivy League graduates — one from Harvard and one from Brown.

Barringer has a 16-year tenure as principal and superintendent. He grew up in Darby and comes from a family of loggers. During a meet-and greet with the public one day earlier, he said he understood the culture of a logging community.

The qualities of a good teacher aren’t always self-evident, Barringer said. The great teachers aren’t the ones students always like, he noted.

“It’s not what the kid thought of the teacher that day, but what they thought years later,” he said.

When it comes to working with school boards, Barringer said there would be times when they simply disagreed.

“A healthy relationship is where you can agree to disagree,” he said.

Barringer also noted he had close ties with his local legislators. He coached swimming with state Sen. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, who crafted the innovative educational funding the Legislature passed last session. Barringer said he had plenty of input into that law. Barringer also is a finalist for the Libby superintendent position.

Kim Harding, superintendent and principal of the Sheridan School District in southwest Montana, said her educational philosophy is to ensure that students are the ones doing the thinking, not the teachers. Education, particularly math, should have a real-world connection, she said.

“Students need to know what they’re learning makes sense and they can connect it to the real world,” she said.

Harding, who grew up in Whitefish, said she became involved in education when she was the accountant for her husband’s business. She decided to get her teaching degree and initially taught math in Ronan schools. She then went on to get her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Montana. She has been the superintendent and K-6 principal in Sheridan since 2008. 

Last year, there was a community petition in Sheridan asking for her resignation. She explained that the petition started after she moved to implement a requirement that students complete three years of high school math as a graduation requirement.

Some members of the community didn’t like the move, she said, even though tougher Common Core standards, which the state is currently implementing, will require a tougher math standard.

On the subject of chronically abusive or violent students, she said the school must take a hard stand.

“The school must be tough. It must be a safe place for our students,” she said.

She also said principals at each school must be empowered to control their school’s structure and teachers need to be allowed to think outside the box.

“Our teachers and principals need to be creative and innovative and take some risks,” she said.

Steven Bradshaw, superintendent of Sitka Schools in Alaska, has steered a school district similar in size to Columbia Falls for the past 16 years — three as a principal and 13 as a superintendent. He grew up in Wyoming and taught and was a principal in Red Lodge and Hardin before moving to Alaska.

Bradshaw noted that education of a student is a total community effort. It requires not just the schools but also cooperation of parents and the community.

“We’ve got to quit pointing the fingers at teachers,” he said. “Education is everyone’s responsibility.”

He said his management style is to find and keep good people on the school’s staff.

“I’d like to think I hire good people and let them do their job and not get in their way,” he said. “If I have to get in their way, there’s a problem.”

He also said he insists on a truthful relationship between the board, himself and the staff.

“Never say anything you wouldn’t yell off the top of a building in town,” he said. 

Bradshaw has worked with legislators over the years, sat in on legislative panels and even took the governor to task.

“I take great pride in being an advocate for public education,” he said.

He said the qualities of a good teacher, first and foremost, are that they can communicate effectively with children. Teachers can be experts on the material, but if they can’t communicate with students, they won’t be effective.

He said technology is another tool for the classroom.

“It’s only going to be great if it’s in the hands of teachers who know what they’re doing with kids,” he said.

Bradshaw was also frank with the board. He noted he was 62 years old and if offered the job, he probably would take it for 5 to 10 years.

He also wondered why none of the current administrators in School District 6 had applied for the position.

The board deliberated about the candidates after the interviews, and the audience members, mostly school administrators and teachers, were asked to provide written comments. 

The board will meet today at 7 p.m. to deliberate further and likely announce its decision.

Peterson writes for the Hungry Horse News.