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Somers district looks for new superintendent

HILARY MATHESON | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years AGO
by HILARY MATHESON
EDUCATION REPORTER Hilary Matheson covers education for the Daily Inter Lake. Her reporting focuses on schools, students, and the policies that shape public education across Northwest Montana. Matheson regularly reports on school boards, district decisions and issues affecting teachers and families. Her work examines how funding, enrollment and state policy influence local school systems. She helps readers understand how education decisions affect students and communities throughout the region. IMPACT: Hilary’s work provides transparency and insight into the schools that serve thousands of local families. | March 25, 2016 5:31 PM

Somers-Lakeside School District will interview candidates in April in the search for a new superintendent.

The district personnel committee will conduct interviews with potential candidates at 5 p.m. April 5 and 6 at Somers Middle School.

The district has received applications from Gerald Chouinard, principal of Lame Deer Elementary; Mark Johnston, principal of Ronan Middle School; Robert Macauley, who recently spent four years as a high school principal in Oregon and is currently a substitute teacher in the Flathead Valley; and Joseph Price, executive director of a cooperative educational service agency in Wisconsin

June 30 will be Paul Jenkins’ last day as Lakeside-Somers superintendent.

In his fourth year with the district, Jenkins submitted a letter of resignation to the school board thanking trustees, staff and the community “for allowing me to make a difference for the students of Somers and Lakeside Schools.” He did not cite a particular reason for his resignation in the letter.

Jenkins also noted, “There is much to be accomplished until the end of my employment, and know I will continue to work every bit as hard as I have since you brought me on three and a half years ago.”

Some of the work that lies ahead for the district is the decision whether or not to send Somers Middle School students to a new building that Kalispell Public Schools proposes to construct at the south end of Kalispell.


Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or [email protected].

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