Darby divided?:
Signs signal schism over school board election

By JENNY JOHNSON Staff Reporter

DARBY - Driving south on U.S. 93 the signs start appearing near the Lake Como turnoff. By Main Street in Darby, nearly every house and business is marked by a controversy that has rocked the small town.

Red and white campaign signs spell out the division in townsfolk and the stark contrast in political views that will shake out at the May 4 election.

Of the six school board trustee elections in Ravalli County, Darby's is the most heated, with candidates and their supporters spending more dollars to sway votes than in any other district. Half-page ads in the newspaper, bulk mailings and signs separate the four candidates into two different camps - Gina Schallenberger and Robert House or Bob Wetsteon and Eric Abrahamsen.

The two pairs are on opposite sides of the controversial objective origins science policy that the school board approved on first reading and received criticism for on the grounds of its constitutionality and merits.

For Wetsteon and Abrahamsen, their campaign is simple: "Fix this mess." They refer to threatened lawsuits, an existing lawsuit and general unrest the community has experienced since the objective origins policy was introduced in December.

Schallenberger and House, however, staunchly believe in local control of school policy and support the policy that calls for teachers to offer criticisms of evolution but doesn't offer up creationism or any other origin theory as an alternative.

Schallenberger said in an ad printed in Tuesday's Ravalli Republic that giving control to the state "does a disservice to the parents of our students who elected and entrusted us, with their most prized and esteemed gifts, their children."

The Wetsteon-Abrahamsen signs popped up before the candidate forum, and the Schallenberger-House signs - made from recycled "Rob Natelson for Governor" campaign signs - appeared Friday in greater numbers.

The hurried erection of the Schallenberger-House signs were without the required disclaimer until this week. Officials at the state Commissioner of Political Practice's office advised Montana Advocates for True Science to comply with state ethics law and a typed message was affixed with tape to each sign.

The recently created organization paid for the signs and ads, according to the disclaimer.

"This issue has divided the community," said Rita Wilcox. "But it just goes to show that we all care - one way or the other. And the way to move forward will be at the election when all of this might go away or we'll deal with the consequences."

While the board voted 3-2 in favor of the policy earlier this year, a second reading hasn't been scheduled. And a change in the make-up of the board could quash the policy before it sees the light of day.

Incumbents Wetsteon and Schallenberger voted on opposite sides of the policy and vow to maintain their stands. They are joined by Abrahamsen and House, respectively, who both lost bids to the board last year.

Ultimately, it will be up to the 2,152 registered voters to move the policy forward or kill it.

Trustees heard three nights of public comment before the policy's adoption, much of which centered on the appeal to teach Genesis in school, a standard long outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Some signs in Darby reflect the religious undertones linked to the policy.

"Be not misled. Read the policy before you vote," one sign reads. On the other side it reads, "A big mess started when Darwin entered the classroom."

While the sign on property,owned by Darby Town Marshal Larry Rose goes so far as to criticize evolution, the written policy doesn't.

"Everybody's going to have their own opinion," Darby resident Mike Wolfe said.

The issue moves north

After last week's candidate forum for Hamilton School Board trustees, it's clear that the objective origins issue is also important to Hamilton voters.

And now with the withdrawal of Bill LaCroix from the race, Hamilton's race is looking a lot like the one in Darby - four candidates, two seats and two camps on the issue of objective origins.

About half of the questions at the candidate forum were related to the controversial policy. Harris Himes and Cary Monaco, both ministers running for their first terms on the school board, support the policy, while Lori Holly and Ingrid Sutherland said they would vote against such a policy.

And LaCroix made his exit from the race for the school board to "narrow the choices for two people who don't want issues like creationism brought to the Hamilton School District."

Hamilton's election is visually about the three levies on the ballot, with yellow signs in yards and in car windows. But the election will be an indication of how Hamilton will deal with the objective origins policy, which officials predict is upcoming.

Reporter Jenny Johnson can be reached at 363-3300 or jjohnson@ravallirepublic.com