Protests against mask mandates and other measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have been underway nearly nonstop since those measures began in 2020. Coming up on two years later, those protests are still going strong. Everything from TV news pundits to trucker convoys continue to expend effort on a daily basis towards making it known that they do not agree with these measures. Even locally, we have groups standing on Reserve Street every week holding signs with anti-mask, anti-vaccine and anti-science messages, and others driving by repeatedly for hours honking industrial-grade truck horns in support and to draw attention. Perhaps more concerning is that nationwide, these same groups are pushing to take over local governments and school boards with the primary objective of overturning mandates.

The problem is that COVID will not be such a front-and-center issue forever, or I'd even wager to say likely for much longer. I wouldn't be surprised if mask mandates are removed in schools and elsewhere in the first half of 2022, assuming the trend in cases and the science of doing so continues to support it. There's a fair chance that masks will be a non-issue again by the time the 2022 school board trustee election wraps up. And then what?

Single-issue school board trustee candidates are nothing new, and websites affiliated with schools which offer advice on running for a school board all tend to say the same thing: if you're running for the board in order to advance one particular issue, or to try to fire somebody within the school system or get back at a particular teacher or staff member for something, you should probably reconsider your motivations. Not only are your actions likely to be counter to the best interests of all students and teachers, but you are not the executive decision-maker on the school board. You will need to work with other trustees, be respectful towards them, and gain their support, as well as to support initiatives that the other trustees put forward. If you come in like a bull in a china shop making demands and refusing to cooperate with the rest of the board, you're not going to get very far. This is what we've largely seen with Michael Gehl up to this point in regards to mask mandates.

However, there are two primary reasons I'm concerned about those like Mr. Gehl holding positions on the school board even after COVID is no longer such a primary issue. The first reason is that these candidates have shown their true colors and what their motivations are, and they do not end at mask mandates. As of this writing, there are at least four MCPS candidates this year who have made anti-science or other troubling statements or affiliations. These include overtly racist or cultist views and positions. When COVID restrictions are no longer in effect, I expect they will continue to push for regressive policies on topics both within the realm of science and beyond. These candidates and groups have been responsible for pushing to ban books from libraries in Montana, and for penning a number of questionable letters in support of others like them for dismantling components of the Montana education system which they simply do not agree with based on their religious or political views. It is logical to assume that there will be other hot topics and bullying from these candidates after COVID.

The second reason I'm concerned about these candidates is that they have managed to organize under local political groups and churches in order to coordinate their actions and attempt to gain the majority on the school board and in other areas of local government. These groups are particularly frustrating because they push blatant misinformation and disinformation, and little can be done against them. The four anti-science candidates identified in the link above are all affiliated with the same group, and are attempting to spread out their candidacies to cover all of the open seats on the school board. The difficulty in combating this is that "science, logic and reason" doesn't tend to have an organized action group because we assume it's the default in how most people operate. While I still believe this to be true in Missoula, and that the majority of Missoula County residents are sane people with the desire to see our education system remain a productive and challenging environment for students, this segment does not tend to be as vocal or to have the same turnout as the other groups pushing to take over our schools with regressive policies and ideas counter to science and logic.

School board business should normally be fairly routine and boring. It should involve the approval of budgets and curriculum, the review of faculty and staff, and the general day-to-day happenings of the district, among a few other things. When the hot-button issue of mask mandates is no longer a consideration, my hope is that it will return to this. I understand this reality, and I am committed to doing the normal "boring" work of being a school board trustee when things are not so controversial. I'm also happy to be a metaphorical punching bag for those with frustrations about current school board policies and actions. What will those who ran because they are upset about mask mandates do? Considering their persistent outrage for a sustained two years, I would be surprised if they simply settled down and resumed business as usual after masks are gone. My fear is that they will continue to push a particular agenda, one that is not based on science or on providing students with a well-rounded education. They have celebrated the banning of books from libraries and certain types of curriculum elsewhere in the state and the country, so do we not expect that they will attempt to bring the same things here to Missoula? I think it would be naive to expect otherwise.

My goal during this election is to encourage you to turn out and vote for both myself and other pro-science candidates in Missoula. While the issues and decisions we face are sometimes certainly more complex than just following the science, a pro-science position indicates the willingness to consider all available data and make appropriate changes - as opposed to starting from a position of outrage, and then trying to justify it with selective and cherry-picked information or straight-up misinformation. Please take the time to vote this year on May 3, or to request an absentee ballot in advance if you would prefer to vote by mail instead. Together I hope that we can return the school board proceedings to a regular, uneventful state, save for a few vocal community members who will likely always be perpetually outraged at something or other.