Happy Wednesday, Beacon readers. Mariah Thomas here with a dispatch from my couch, where I’m resting up from a knee injury I sustained while attempting to learn to ski this weekend. Taking tips for how not to go stir-crazy when you can’t … go much of anywhere. Anyway.
Last night, the Kalispell Public Schools board of trustees approved the resignation of Sue Corrigan, a retired KPS special education teacher and board member who also served a term as the president of the Montana School Boards Association. Her departure tees up a chance for the board to select a stand-in until the May election. Candidate filing for May’s special election opens Jan. 20 at 8 a.m. and closes on Feb. 4.
“It’s time,” Corrigan said in an interview with the Beacon about her reason for leaving. “I’ve been involved with education here in Kalispell for umpteen million years it seems. I feel like we have a really solid board right now, so it’s a good time to pass the baton. It’s been in the works for a while I think.”
Corrigan described watching the evolution of the board’s relationship with the community over the past eight years, moving from a contentious place as the board implemented mask mandates and the like during the pandemic, to a more-trusting relationship the board shares with the public now.
For Corrigan, the focus of her service — and of the current board — lies with student success.
“My role, along with the rest of board, was to keep the focus on what’s best for kids,” Corrigan said. “It’s not even what any political parties were telling us, not what national politics were telling us, but looking at our local kids and what’s best for them.”
Beyond her service on the local school board, Corrigan became involved with the Montana School Boards Association during the COVID pandemic as well. The non-profit — which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year — provides trainings and support to school boards and trustees, along with serving as a lobbying arm for education policies at the state legislature. Corrigan served a term as president of the organization from 2024-2025.
Lance Melton, the executive director of the MTSBA, noted the organization has only had 100 presidents — “a truly impressive distinction among the tens of thousands of volunteer elected leaders who have served as trustees in Montana’s public schools.”
“Sue Corrigan’s tenure as president is particularly noteworthy, as she is the first elected trustee from Kalispell Public Schools to hold this position,” Melton wrote in an email to the Beacon. “However, her impact extends far beyond being a trailblazer. Sue brought a wealth of expertise as a national board-certified teacher to her role as a trustee, enhancing our discussions and enriching our advocacy for the public schools of Montana. Throughout her presidency, she was dedicated to engaging fellow trustees in the mission of advocating for every child in every public school. In pursuit of that mission, she connected many leaders with many other leaders and opened up opportunities for dialogue among people who might otherwise never have crossed paths.”
Corrigan said her service on the state association was different from her service on the KPS board, because it required “the mindset that you represent everybody” — from AA districts like Kalispell Public Schools to one-room schoolhouses.
During Corrigan’s time as president, the MTSBA successfully lobbied the legislature to improve beginning teacher pay through the STARS Act. The bill, which passed in 2025, marked a $100 million investment into starting teacher pay. STARS doubled quality educator payments for districts that raised salaries to match a certain percentage of their average teacher pay. Those quality educator payments are one of the cornerstones of the education funding formula that determines how much money each district receives from the state for its operations. At Kalispell Public Schools, the act prompted anticipatory raises for new teachers, per Montana Free Press reporting.
Corrigan also heralded the passage of House Bill 515 in the most recent session, which increased funds for major maintenance for schools. In essence, the bill provided funding districts can apply for to address building needs and increased the amount districts receive for maintenance each year. For Corrigan, both measures’ passage mark successes during her service.
As she resigns from the board, Corrigan said she plans to travel and enjoy her retirement — for real this time. But she said she’d be remiss if she didn’t still leap in and advocate for education at the local and state level.
“The legacy I hope I leave is that I loved working in the school system and I have mixed emotions about leaving, but like I said, I’m very confident in the people who are involved now,” Corrigan said. “I’m very pleased with the path I have left for people.”
That’s all for now, and here’s the rest of your Daily Roundup.
Changing Montana’s Drunk Driving Culture, One Coffee Card at a Time
Behind lawmakers’ efforts to curb drunk driving in a state with the highest rates in the nation is a nonprofit that started with a simple solution: handing out coffee cards to those who choose not to drive home drunk. The impact has been wider than the Montana Bar Fairies’ founders imagined.
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