A fourth name

Published 2:16 pm Monday, October 12, 2026

There are six choices on the ballot for Blair School Board to fill four seats. Before you vote, consider this: To my knowledge, three people running for this board have not publicly explained — beyond, at most, campaign-flyer slogans any candidate could print — where they stand on the issues facing Blair’s schools.

Up for re-election, board members Courtney Tabor and Steve Callaghan work hard. They struggle with votes. They answer emails and phone calls. They sit in front of rooms of parents who may be agitated and alarmed.

And they answered my questions in interviews where no question was off base.

I believe they were treated unfairly during the turmoil of the last few years. Yet they remained available to the people questioning them — publicly. Now, knowing what that responsibility can cost them personally, they are asking to do it for four more years.

I respect that commitment, just as I respect the service of Denise Cada, Bob Schoby, Melaini Sturm, Nate Larsen and Kari Loseke, who are not on the ballot this year.

Also in the race is Ryan Klein. He was part of a group of parents who attended meetings. At one meeting, he challenged then-board President Kari Loseke after she asked whether there were folks brave enough to speak. His response drew applause.

When I interviewed Klein a few editions back, the start of our discussion went right into that first time I saw him speak publicly. I wanted him to explain that exchange and what was behind it.

By the time the interview was over, I was sure Ryan Klein was willing to answer that question and every single question I had for him. He did not flinch. He stayed in the conversation and answered.

Ryan Klein was willing to tell me what he believed, why he believed it and what he wanted for his — and your — children. I told him that day he’d swayed me enough that I believed he deserved a seat next to Tabor, Callaghan and the others whose terms don’t end this year.

I can support board members who faced criticism and also support a man who stood before them and challenged them. I don’t need candidates to agree with one another on everything. I do expect them to explain themselves and stay in the conversation when the questions get uncomfortable. And I expect them to be at the meetings, facing the board they hope to join.

There are four seats available. That does not obligate me to vote for four people. I’ll leave the fourth spot blank before I give my vote to someone who hasn’t earned it. And with less than a month to go, yard signs that suddenly appear are not enough. Neither are last-minute explanations of policies and positions that should have been discussed months ago.

For the record, every candidate on the ballot was asked — more than once — to sit down with me. Three said yes. Three did not. The others remain a mystery, and not because I haven’t asked.

I will vote for Courtney Tabor, Steve Callaghan and Ryan Klein. I know what they stand for. There is not another name on the ballot I will even consider.

The deadline to file as a write-in candidate is Oct. 23. I hope someone steps up, files, posts a video explaining why they belong on the Blair School Board and sits down for an interview with the Enterprise.

Then you’ll have a fourth name worth filling in.