Former Montana Superintendent Becomes New Missoula School Board Member
Denise Juneau Joins Missoula County School Board
The former superintendent of public education for Montana has been unanimously voted as the newest member of the Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees.
Denise Juneau successfully competed against seven candidates to fill the seat previously held by Koan Mercer.
Who Is Denise Juneau?
A Browning native and graduate of Montana State University, Denise Juneau was elected the superintendent of public education for Montana from 2009 to 2017.
Among her many accomplishments in that time was her Graduation Matters Montana initiative, which saw graduation rates reach all-time highs.
She also was a big supporter of the Indian Education for All program that teaches Montana's American Indian heritage across public schools.
After her time in Montana, she went on to be the superintendent of Seattle Public Schools from 2018 to 2021.
Advocating Local Engagement On The Board
According to NBC Montana, Denise Juneau spoke at the Tuesday meeting in Missoula and had this to say about why she wanted to join the Board of Trustees.
"I think we're in a time now where people have been asking me a lot about 'What can I do? What can I do to make a difference?' and I've been preaching and preaching to people — we need to act locally," Juneau said during Tuesday's meeting. "This is a time when we really need to be engaged in our local community and do all that we can to raise us up, raise us all up and so when I heard about this vacancy, you know, I sort of like, well, that might be interesting."
Denise's time on the board will continue until 2026, when school board elections will be held in May.
Source: NBC Montana
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