Congratulations to Montana public schools.
You’ve arrived at the end of the last full year under Superintendent Elsie Arntzen’s incompetent leadership.
Arntzen, whose term ends in November, has been failing public schools for the past eight years, leaving half of our kids below proficiency in math and reading and failing to support bills designed to help students thrive.
And now, Elsie Arntzen’s deputy and handpicked successor, Susie Hedalen, is the Republican nominee to succeed her. Let’s take a quick tour of their failed leadership.
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In the past year, Montana took first place for the lowest pay in the nation for new teachers, and our state started the school year with more than a 1,000 vacant educator positions.
As head of Montana’s public schools, Arntzen and her deputy, Hedalen, have been responsible for insufficient communication that cost school districts tens of thousands of dollars.
They have refused to implement programs related to early childhood literacy. They stalled public charter schools, created confusion regarding out-of-district student enrollment, and failed to report new requirements for Indigenous education.
Is it incompetence, neglect, or some combination of both?
In 2021, Arntzen’s missteps drew fire from superintendents across the state who expressed no confidence in her abilities to meet their needs. Superintendents reminded Arntzen that in order for them to do their jobs, she must do hers.
In another open letter, in March, lawmakers were also forced to write Arntzen and her leadership team detailing their numerous failures. They did not implement new education laws passed during the 2023 legislative session, causing lawmakers on the Education Interim Budget Committee to demand that they “turn your attention to faithfully fulfilling the duties of the office to which you were elected.”
But as Montanans have learned, Arntzen has a habit of dodging accountability by refusing to even show up to meetings. Instead, she claims “political persecution,” ignoring the fact that most of the laws in question were passed by the Republican supermajority and more Republicans sit on the Education Interim Budget Committee than Democrats.
What we can’t do is elect another Arntzen, which is exactly who Susie Hedalen is. Having served as deputy superintendent under Arntzen, Hedalen is equally responsible for undermining our public education system.
Instead, Montana needs someone who has dedicated her life to improving our public schools and who will work with the Legislature to meet our obligation of a quality education. As a legislator, a teacher, and a mom, Shannon O’Brien won’t allow this incompetence to continue.
It is time to rebuild the Office of Public Instruction by electing Shannon O’Brien in November
Sheila Hogan is executive director of the Montana Democratic Party. She grew up in Butte and now lives in Helena with her husband, Jim.
