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Idaho Administrator Selected as Flathead High School Principal

John Blackman to take over top administrative position in July

By Dillon Tabish
Flathead High School. Beacon File Photo

John Blackman, a school administrator in Idaho who began his career as a student teacher in Kalispell, has been selected as the new principal at Flathead High School.

Mark Flatau, superintendent of Kalispell Public Schools, announced the decision June 1. The school board will finalize the hire at its June 13 meeting and Blackman is slated to begin work July 1.

Blackman will replace Peter Fusaro, who has served 20 years at the high school, including the last 11 as principal. Fusaro is stepping down to fill a new position at Flathead Valley Community College as director of the Trades and Industrial Arts Department.

Blackman is the current assistant superintendent and human resources director at Blaine County School District in Hailey, Idaho. Blaine County School District serves 3,440 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade with one high school, four elementary schools and one middle school.

In 2001, Blackman became the vice principal at Wood River High School in Hailey before taking over as principal in 2007. In 2010, he was named assistant superintendent of the school district.

Blackman emerged as the top choice out of four finalists who interviewed last week for the top administrative position at Flathead. The other three finalists were Michele Paine, current assistant principal at Flathead; Tres Genger, principal at Lindbergh High School in Renton, Washington; and Peter Hamilton Sr., the principal at Cut Bank High School.

“We had strong candidates,” Flatau said.

Flatau said Blackman stood out during the interview process as an energetic and passionate educator. The 16-person interview committee checked several references, including a half-dozen who were not listed on Blackman’s resume, and received overwhelmingly positive feedback about Blackman.

“We received a lot of feedback and did a lot of reference checks,” Flatau said.

Blackman is arriving at Flathead at a time of noticeable change. The high school is preparing to undergo a sizable $19 million renovation project that is starting this spring. The construction is expected to last roughly one-and-a-half years in a section of the school.

Blackman has experience dealing with this type of work. He was vice principal of Wood River when a new high school was built.

Blackman’s hire will be a return of sorts. He began his education career as a student teacher at Flathead High School for Wes Hines.

“Wes sent me an email and said, ‘For what it’s worth, (Blackman) was probably the best student teacher I’ve ever had,'” Flatau said.

Blackman received his bachelor’s degree from Montana State University in Bozeman and his master’s in education. He received an education specialist degree from the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. He also holds a Professional in Human Resources (P.H.R.) Certification.

After student teaching at Flathead, Blackman was hired in 1984 as an art instructor at Wood River Schools in Blaine County, Idaho. Over the years, he also served as assistant and head football coach, and assistant wrestling coach.

In 2013, Blackman temporarily filled in as interim superintendent after the permanent administrator stepped down.

Flatau credited Fusaro as a passionate educator who shaped Flathead into a model academic institution.

“Nobody will fill Peter’s shoes. They’ll bring a new skillset and a different perspective. Change is hard but change is good in many ways, too,” Flatau said. “We just thank Peter. He’s done a great job of building up Flathead High School. It’s a premier high school in part because of his leadership and certainly the staff that work diligently everyday.”

Flatau thanked the interview committee and members of the public who helped in the search process.