👍🏻🎉 Rob Woelich was elected! Thank you for your support, Missoula! See more here.
This is an old website for the 2022 election. Please visit the main Rob4Missoula.com website for current info.

Missoula County School Board

Rob Woelich is running for High School District C of the Missoula County School Board.

This area includes the Hellgate Elementary attendance area, and the majority of the residential area north of the Clark Fork River and west of North Reserve Street out to the Wye. It also includes the Grant Creek area. See the district map below.

If you do not live in HS District C, view information about other candidates here.

Hi! I'm Rob Woelich. I grew up in the Missoula area, and have lived in Missoula for most of my life. I'm running for the school board in 2022. A brief bit about myself:

  • I'm a responsible adult with a college degree, federal employment and experience as an educator
  • I believe in science, and in acting in accordance with logic and reason
  • I hope to work with other school board members, and be a voice of reason

Please browse the rest of this website to learn more about me and why I'm a good choice for the Missoula County school board. My goal is to defeat Michael Gehl, who was appointed as the High School District C trustee in 2021 and is the wrong choice for Missoula schools. Thanks for stopping by!

Educator Union Endorsed

I interviewed in early March with the Missoula Education Association (MEA) and the Merged Missoula Classified Employees Organization (MMCEO), the two unions which represent the majority of the faculty and staff in Missoula area schools. We discussed my understanding of the public education system and the role of the school board, my thoughts and priorities on various issues affecting the school system, and my commitment to supporting students, teachers, staff, and families in Missoula County. I was given their endorsements as a result, and I am grateful for their support.

Additional candidates were endorsed in other districts, such as Wilena Old Person, Meg Whicher, and Keegan Witt in the combined elementary district, Ann Wake in High School District A, and Arlene Walker-Andrews in High School District B. It is probably no coincidence that these candidates also support school board policy decisions based on science, logic, and reason, and keeping politics out of the MCPS system and the school board. You can read more about them on the Other Candidates page.

The Results Are In...

Rob Woelich Wins!

I am both excited and honored to share that I have been elected as the trustee for High School District C of Missoula County Public Schools in 2022. You can view current election results for all MCPS districts at the Missoula County Elections or KPAX Election Results pages.

✅ Rob Woelich: 58% (2,031)
Michael W. Gehl: 42% (1,468)

It is great to see that Arlene Walker-Andrews, Wilena Old Person, Meg Whicher, and Keegan Witt were also elected in their respective districts this year. We all share the sentiment that our school system should be run without the injection of politics or other artificial distractions, and that MCPS can be best served in a non-partisan manner. I also hold hope that Karen Sherman will join together with the rest of the board, and work towards making the right decisions for students, families, and teachers in that same spirit.

That said, it's time to get to work!

Please feel free to contact me with your questions, comments, or thoughts. I am truly interested in listening to all families, and I will hear you out and explain the reasoning behind my votes on the board even if I take a position which we don't agree on. Please consider, though, that being heard does not mean your elected trustee will vote for what you want every time, and that there are other voices in Missoula and other concerns which may sometimes weigh in more heavily. This is one of many challenges that every trustee faces in representing an entire district, and a challenge of representative democracy in general. I will also remain committed to countering anti-science misinformation and other misinformation as a trustee, as I view this to be one of the biggest threats to our future.

You can continue to contact me through this website until I receive official MCPS contact information. After that time, this website will be replaced with a countdown timer to the next election, as well as a simple page for me to share updates related to the school board.

Thanks for your overwhelming support this year! An extra thank you to everyone who contributed to my campaign, either financially or by spreading the word to others via yard signs, sharing my website, or telling others to vote. I couldn't have done this without you! I look forward to speaking with all of you soon.

- Rob

Photo: Clouds over the Bitterroot Valley, Rob Woelich, July 2008

High School District C Map

See Where You're Located

Residents of Missoula County vote for a school board trustee in their district of residence (source, p. 11 ). The map below shows approximate boundaries of High School District C in Missoula County, which is essentially the same as the Hellgate Elementary district. Use the buttons to switch between a Normal map view and Satellite view, or click the High Res button to open a high resolution version of the current map in a new window.

Note that these maps are not official district maps - they were constructed by hand using publicly available data on district boundaries plotted onto Google Maps, then by taking screenshots of the maps and stitching them together. Please view the district map provided by Missoula County, or contact Missoula County Public Schools at +1 (406) 728-2400 if you want to know for certain which district your address falls under.

Not in this area? See information on the Other Candidates running this year in other districts.

Map data © 2022 Google Imagery. Satellite map data © 2022, Landsat / Copernicus, Maxar Technologies, USDA Farm Service Agency.
Used with permission under Google's Product/Geo Guidelines .

Rob In The Media

News Appearances

Running for the school board has been an interesting experience. Your name and image ends up on yard signs and other campaign materials, as well as in the local news. While my goal is to stay out of the news in general, especially over anything embarrassing, you may want to see where I've turned up and what I've said. Here are some places where I've been mentioned.