Ossello seeks third term

1. Could you please give a little bit about your background and why you chose to run for school board?

My husband and I have lived in Whitehall for 21 years and we have 3 children that go to school in Whitehall. Our son is in HS, our middle daughter is in Middle School and our youngest daughter is in elementary school. I am a realtor at McLeod Realtors and have been for 18 years. I often volunteer my time at the school, am the leader of our 4H club and volunteer for the Chamber of Commerce when needed. I am an active member of this community.

I am running for a 3rd term on the school board because I feel our school is heading in the right direction and I would like to be part of the positive move. I was on the interview committee when we hired our superintendent and HS Principal. We have seen great improvements so far, and I want to support their future efforts in making our schools the best it can be.

2. What are the biggest challenges facing our schools and how will you address those?

Budget constraints always represent the biggest challenge. Difficult decisions need to be made based on the reality of our limited financial resources.

3. What do you think the district is doing well?

The district is doing several things very well. If I had to only choose one thing we are doing well, it would be we implemented a short term and long term plan to update all curriculum throughout K-12. We are already seeing the positive result which is evident in our HS test scores. Out of 179 schools, 3 years ago we were ranked 99th, 2 year ago we ranked 25th and the scores will be even better this year. One stand out is our Reading Subtest. Whitehall School is ranked 2nd overall, beat Bozeman High School and we are ranked 1st in Class B.

4. How would you like the district to move forward in the future?

We need to continue forward using our existing guidelines- maximize student education, and base decisions on facts and financial realities. For example, we are adding a Personal Finance Course this year. The HS Principal recognized our kids could benefit from this "life skill" course. She presented a plan to the board showing how we could implement this course and stay on budget.

Moving forward, we will continue to use this framework to make decisions. I am confident that the district will continue to improve and would like the opportunity to be part of its growth.