GREAT FALLS — The Great Falls Public School Board election is on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, so now is the time to get your vote in and make sure your voice is heard before it's too late. Although the election is this week, not many ballots have been returned.
Four people are on the ballot to fill three positions: Craig Duff, Gordon Johnson, Tony Rosales, and Paige Turoski.
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Terry Thompson, Cascade County Election Administrator, said, “I think people are kind of burned out of elections…with the legislature going on, but, you know, coming off of a presidential, as hectic and crazy as that was.”
Thompson hopes to see response numbers increase by election night.
Thompson said, “You have a right to vote. You should select your school board trustees. And, you know, I think they would like to see over 50% of those that are eligible to vote, to vote to pick the trustees.”
If you have not received a ballot, you can call the Elections Office to learn why. If you changed your address since the November election or updated your voter registration with the Motor Vehicle Division after April 16, you need to come in person to register with the Elections Office before Tuesday, or at the Expo Park on election day.
Thompson said, “Unfortunately, the statute doesn't allow us to process our online, in the mail, faxed or anything but in person, if somebody is changing their, their address or a new voter registration.”
Vice Chair of the Great Falls Public School Board of Trustees Kim Skornogoski hopes the people of Great Falls understand the importance of voting for school board members.
Skornogoski said, “Education decisions aren’t made by the federal government or the state government or the state legislature…Those decisions are made by, seven local trustees,”
The board decides everything from the length of Christmas break to the school budget, and a stronger board creates a stronger school district as a whole.
Skornogoski said, “We want to have more parent participation. We want to have more community voice. And this is the… loudest voice that you can have.”
There's only one item on the ballot, so it is a quick process to vote, but it makes all the difference for the Great Falls Public Schools.
You can drop off ballots at the Courthouse Annex or the Expo Park until 8pm on Tuesday.
On Monday, voter registration will take place at the Election Office from 8 a.m.-12 p.m., and ballot replacement will be available all day.
On Tuesday, voter registration will take place at the Expo Park from 7 a.m.-8 p.m., and the Election Office will be closed.
The Election Office phone number is (406) 454-6803.
