Voters Elect New Trustees In Wolf Point

The Wolf Point School board will feature three new trustees at its next meeting.

During the election on Tuesday, May 3, Keith Higgins received 100 votes while Ronald Jackson had 43 votes in District 1. Jackson was appointed to the position earlier this year.

For the at-large position, Bif Loucks won with 505 votes and Robert A. Zimmerman had 136 votes. Loucks will replace Dr. Mark Zilkoski who decided not to seek re-election.

In District 2, Jaronn Boysun and Roxanne Gourneau tied with 36 votes each. Incumbent Linda L. Hansen received 24 votes.

According to the Office of Public Instruction, if a tie is certified to the election administrator, a recount is automatically conducted. The recount must occur within 5 days of the official canvass. Since the recount must be open to the public and the candidates must be given an opportunity to be present, a recount should not be held the same day as the canvass. After the recount, if the result of the election is still a tie, the board of trustees will appoint one of the candidates to fill the vacancy until the next regular school election is held. Montana state law does not specify how the appointment should be made or which board members should participate in the appointment. It is recommended that tied trustee elections, especially ones involving an incumbent candidate, be resolved randomly, such as by drawing lots (legal precedent for this method exists).

After the official canvass took place on Monday, May 9, school officials established a recount board to conduct the recount later this week.