This is an old website for the 2022 election. Please visit the main Rob4Missoula.com website for current info.
So Here We Are...
Why The MCPS School Board?
I said it at the beginning of the About Rob page, but again: I never thought I'd be running for a school board trustee position. To be fair, though, I also never thought a lot of things would happen in the last 5 years or so, let alone in my lifetime. The recent rise in anti-intellectualism and the increased acceptability of anti-science rhetoric is truly concerning, and I'm worried about all of our futures - mine, yours, and especially our younger generations.
These trends are exacerbated by the current school board trustee for High School District C, Michael Gehl, and our state Superintendent of Public Instruction, Elsie Arntzen. I became aware of Mr. Gehl in a Missoula Current article from November 2021 , in which Elsie Arntzen and Michael Gehl encouraged parents and others to run for local school boards in order to overturn mask mandates and other policies they opposed.
Elsie Arntzen and Michael Gehl
The Wrong Choices for the Montana Education System
Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen
Elsie Arntzen
Elsie Arntzen attended an event hosted at a local Missoula church and sponsored by the "Western Montana Liberty Coalition" in early November 2021, in which she made the following statements and others in reference to MCPS and the school board:
Do you believe they're purporting the right thing? That's what this is all about. How can you believe that math lesson? How can you believe that English book is the right English book?
You will have the opportunity to champion your child and say, “Don't have to wear a mask. Don't have to have that boy in that girls' locker room”.
These statements are out of line for a number of reasons. Casting doubt on the validity of basic educational facets such as a math lesson is ridiculous, and comments regarding mixed bathroom use are used to create anger and fear amongst certain groups of parents. Such statements do not reflect the reality of anything that is currently being considered as policy in the MCPS school system.
Moreover, the idea that parents should be able to demand that their child is exempt from anything and everything which a parent does not personally approve of within the public school system is not a practical or reasonable one. With very few exceptions (such as accommodations for disabilities), policies and curriculum cannot be custom-tailored to each individual student as dictated by parents - nor should they generally be, as this is not how our world works post-education. Students should be challenged and pushed outside their comfort zones to a reasonable extent as a part of their education, in order to build skills which will be useful in understanding and dealing with similar situations they will encounter as adults in the real world.
While Elsie Arntzen is not the subject of the 2022 MCPS school board trustee election, her views, previous statements, and interactions with Michael Gehl are relevant in order to understand why they are both a danger to Montana's school system.
Current MCPS High School District C Trustee Michael Gehl
Michael Gehl
Michael Gehl was not elected to the MCPS school board, but rather appointed without opposition as an interim trustee in June 2021. At the same November 2021 meeting described above in which Elsie Arntzen spoke, Michael Gehl was also present and made the following comments:
This is a magical year in Missoula County Public Schools. There are six board positions open for election this year. To do that will change the matrix of this board. You can't remove them. It's impossible. But six positions are open this year. That's how we're going to beat this.
It is reasonable that one would suggest to others that they should run for local government in order to effect positive and necessary change. However, Michael Gehl appears to hold the goal of disrupting the MCPS school board, not improving it. In this case, by saying "that's how we're going to beat this", Mr. Gehl was referring to policies such as COVID-related restrictions like mask mandates, as well as other policies which do not align with his anti-science and other related beliefs.
Mr. Gehl's Inappropriate Remarks
At a similar meeting at the same church in August 2021, it was reported by The Missoulian that local attorney Quentin Rhoades suggested the public should get rid of local school superintendents by "shooting them". Later, in another meeting, Mr. Gehl made light of these inappropriate remarks and attempted to rewrite history as something else:
What is it you said about what to do with these two superintendents?
Shoot 'em?
You said, "fire 'em".
Since then, Michael Gehl has continued to behave disruptively, and has acted counter to the interests of the Missoula County school system and its students.
Mr. Gehl's Letter of Support for Arntzen
After several superintendents of Montana schools sent a letter of "no confidence" to Elsie Arntzen , Michael Gehl co-authored a letter of support for Arntzen in response. Mr. Gehl authored and signed the letter as a MCPS trustee, causing frustration for other trustees who thought that it may give the impression the entire MCPS trustee board had endorsed the letter.
Mr. Gehl's letter makes clearly partisan claims, and contains arguments similar to Elsie Arntzen's prior statements which are intended to create anger within their group of supporters. For example, it applauds Arntzen's resistance against "pedophilic grooming materials", referring to books available in some Montana public libraries which confront topics some adults find to be uncomfortable and which have been the discussion of book bans across the country. The letter also signals support for Arntzen's opposition to "racist Critical Race Theory" (CRT), which has historically been an advanced post-secondary education topic. In reality, most adults don't actually understand what CRT is, and CRT has never been taught in Montana primary or secondary schools - or in the majority of K-12 schools in the country, for that matter (source one , two , and three ).
Mr. Gehl's Refusal to Follow MCPS Policy
MCPS board meetings have been conducted remotely for the majority of the current school year; however, because Mr. Gehl has complained that meetings were not being held in person, the board agreed to meet in person on January 12, 2022. As reported by The Missoulian , Gehl refused to wear a mask for the meeting, despite being aware of the MCPS mask policy and the fact that all other board members were cooperating with the policy. He does not believe that the MCPS policies apply to him, and this resulted in the early release of the meeting by MCPS board chair Diane Lorenzen:
As I've stated before chairman, I'm not required to (wear a mask). If you could state a state code that I'm obligated to follow I would be more than happy to follow that, but I'm not bound by any state statute whatsoever.
I'm not bound to follow district policy. I'm a citizen and Diane is not in my chain of command.
While the MCPS mask mandate was dropped at the beginning of March, these prior actions demonstrate what kind of behavior Mr. Gehl thinks is appropriate as a trustee.
A partisan symbol on Mr. Gehl's door cards
Mr. Gehl's Blatant Partisanship
The door card shown here was left at my residence, and distributed to others nearby. Mr. Gehl had the audacity to place the Republican elephant logo on his printed materials - for a non-partisan election! All candidates for the school board election are registered as non-partisan, and that is how school board business should be conducted. Partisan politics have no place on the school board.
This serves as one more example that Mr. Gehl does not care about operating within the bounds of conventional civility or following the rules. However, because Mr. Gehl makes frequent appearances on local partisan news stations and websites to drum up anger about the board's current business, this might not come as much of a surprise.
Local Resistance to Mr. Gehl
Fortunately, there has been plenty of resistance to Mr. Gehl in Missoula. The Missoulian's editorial board has published a piece condemning Mr. Gehl's behavior, such as his refusal to follow district policies and act with civility. The editorial also mentions that Mr. Gehl has removed his children from the Missoula County school system in order to homeschool them as a result of mask mandates. The editors at The Missoulian suggest that perhaps Mr. Gehl "should just stand aside, and cede the school board seat to someone who actually believes in the benefits of a public school education in a safe, healthy environment." I wholeheartedly agree.
Michael Gehl Has No Business on the School Board.
Rob Woelich is a Better Choice.
Rob (me), MCPS Candidate for HS District C
Over the last several years, we've normalized unacceptable behavior. We observe more and more outrageous occurrences from public figures and politicians with each passing month, and after a while we find that we're pretty desensitized to it all. Not all that much surprises us anymore. It's unfortunate that things have become this way, but it seems to be a coping mechanism so that we can maintain our sanity despite the increasingly unorthodox things we've become used to witnessing on a near-daily basis.
With that in mind... while the above examples and quotes from Michael Gehl may not seem all that bad, make no mistake: they are completely unacceptable for a school board trustee. Additionally, the calls by Mr. Gehl and Arntzen for others like them to take over school boards in Montana should concern anyone with a genuine interest in seeing the Montana public education system take proper care of our students.
That's where I come in.
Michael Gehl was appointed to the trustee board between elections, largely because nobody else was interested in serving in the role at the time. He was selected by default. With no competition, Mr. Gehl and others like him have an easy path to our local government - and therefore, an easy path to having the ability to cause the type of disruption we've seen from him so far, and more. We cannot let this continue to happen.
If you haven't already read about me and my background, you can do so on the About Rob page. I mention there that I'm currently employed with the federal government - I left a career as an airline pilot with significantly higher lifetime earning potential in order to enter public service and do "the work of the people". There's more to life than money; I'm interested in being challenged every day, and doing the right thing when it comes to both myself and others. I'm also a FAA Certificated Flight Instructor, and have significant educator experience as a result of my employment experience in that role. As a result of my pilot career, I've spent time living and working in other areas of the United States, and so my worldview is more than the city of Missoula (not to speak negatively of Missoula - I love it here and it's a great place to be).
Don't think I'm out of touch with our local issues, though: I'm still a local, I grew up in Montana and in the Missoula area, and I'm a product of the Montana education system. Having grown up in Missoula and the Bitterroot Valley, I attended the public schools here - and so I want to see them improve and be successful in providing the best education and experience possible for our students.
And therein lies my motivation for running for the MCPS school board: if nobody else does it, we'll continue to see regressive policy changes by those such as Mr. Gehl and Arntzen, and our education system will continue to move backward instead of forward. Imagine a school system and a school board where:
- Our best current understanding of science is disregarded in favor of some people's personal convenience or political beliefs
- Banning books community-wide is the go-to move when a subject counter to our personal or religious beliefs makes us uncomfortable
- The suggestion of shooting superintendents we don't agree with is acceptable, and is joked about instead of condemned
That certainly doesn't sound like the type of community I want to live in. But we're living in it right now - these are real things which have recently happened.
Specific Priorities For The Missoula County Public School System
Outside of the immediate threat, I also consider a school board trustee position to be an opportunity to learn more about our local government and public school system. My hope is that I will be able to find common ground with the other board members on which we can make advancements in the quality and efficiency of the education system. Optimistically speaking, such experience may even someday lead to bigger roles in our local government where I can utilize my experience to improve other areas of our community. Who knows, maybe you'll see me as a mayoral candidate for Missoula someday!
While my candidacy is focused on being a better choice than Mr. Gehl, I continue to define what my priorities as a board member will be as I learn more about the school board and the MCPS system. Initially, I expect to defer to the knowledge of those with more experience within the MCPS system, which includes supporting the strategic plan approved by the board in 2021. I also agree with the platform Wilena Old Person, Keegan Witt and Meg Whicher are running on, which includes (per Meg Whicher's website ):
- Public education is vital for community health and shouldn't involve politics
- Equitable access to education and services district wide
- Support of teachers and administrators
- Good governance and respectful representation
In addition to these things, some of my priorities will include:
- Responsible budgeting to enable the above initiatives
- Supporting teacher-created curriculum and materials
- Balancing parental rights with a full and diverse education for all
- Finding ways to keep students active and engaged with their education
If you agree with my thoughts and goals, and you also recognize the importance of science, logic and reason, I would humbly ask for your support in the MCPS school board trustee election. It is my goal to be open and transparent, and to make the best decisions possible. While your vote is the biggest thing I can ask for, if you're interested in doing more than casting a vote for me, please visit the How To Help page for other ideas on how you can contribute to the success of my campaign and to our local government. And as always, feel free to reach out if you have questions that I can answer for you. Thanks again for reading.
- Rob
Please note that all statements made on this website are Rob's personal opinion, and are not official statements made on behalf of the Federal Aviation Administration in connection with Rob's employment or official duties.