The Flathead Valley Community College Board of Trustees held a special telephone conference meeting on April 1 and voted to cancel the May 3 election due to an insufficient number of candidates filing for the open board positions.
The board voted to cancel the election for four open positions. Two of the positions are three-year terms in the Flathead and Glacier High School District. By acclamation, the trustees elected candidates Shannon Lund and Mark Holston, both of Kalispell, for three-year terms. These positions will expire in May 2019.
The remaining two positions are one-year terms in the Flathead and Glacier High School District and the Bigfork, Columbia Falls and Whitefish High School districts that resulted from the resignations of Robert Nystuen and John Phelps. The trustees elected Jeremy Presta of Kalispell to fill the remainder of Nystuen’s term and Kelly Stimpson of Bigfork to fill the remainder of Phelps’ term. Presta and Stimpson’s terms will expire in May 2017.
College officials estimate that cancelling the election will save taxpayers approximately $30,000. As allowed by state law, the trustees may cancel an election if the number of candidates filing for vacant positions or filing a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate is equal to or less than the number of positions to be elected.
The FVCC Board of Trustees is the governing body of the college. The trustees are charged with the primary responsibilities of establishing college policies and selecting a president to administer the operations of the institution.