Multiple school board trustee positions for the Bigfork Elementary District are on the ballot that hits mailboxes starting April 17.  

This is the first year Bigfork Elementary District residents will cast votes for trustees through the county election system. 

At an April 8 Bigfork School Board meeting, District Clerk Lacey Porrovecchio emphasized that voters cannot drop off ballots at Bigfork schools as in years past.  

Voters can either return their ballots by mail or drop them off at their respective county elections department. Ballots are due May 5 and require both a signature and birth year for acceptance. 

Since Bigfork Elementary District spans both Flathead County and Lake County, the election will be administered by both counties. Flathead County residents can drop ballots in Kalispell while Lake County residents can drop ballots in Polson.  

Prior to 2025, school districts in the Flathead Valley conducted their own school board elections. Last year, the Flathead County Election Department took over the elections process for school districts. Bigfork School District would have used this new process, but the two open elementary district positions were uncontested, so the election was cancelled.  

This year, three of the four open trustee positions are contested. The terms range in length from one to three years, and the two- and three-year positions are contested while the one-year position is uncontested. 

All four trustee positions are for the Bigfork Elementary District and will vote on issues pertaining to both the elementary and high school levels. Bigfork School District contains two other elementary districts, in addition to Bigfork Elementary District. Two of the seven trustees reside in the other elementary districts and only vote on issues pertaining to Bigfork High School. 

AT THE meeting, board members also unanimously voted to waive a make-up day for the March 12 closure due to forecasted snow and wind. While the storm never materialized, Superintendent Tom Stack preemptively canceled school on the recommendation of the Flathead County’s Sheriff’s Office.  

A makeup day would fall on Monday, June 15, and board members doubted students would attend. As of now, Bigfork schools have enough surplus instructional minutes to waive the make-up day and meet state standards. 

The final day of school is still slated for Friday, June 12.