Education | Politics

Leaders of Fort Peck Tribes vote to banish school superintendent






Kim Harding. Photo from The Fort Peck Journal

Leaders of the Fort Peck Tribes of Montana voted 9 to 1 to banish a public school superintendent from the reservation.

Council members said Kim Harding, the superintendent for the Poplar School School District, has created a hostile environment for students and parents. They accused her of being unresponsive to the needs of the community in employment and other matters.

“The superintendent has committed terrible acts,” council member Roxanne Gourneau said at a meeting, The Fort Peck Journal reported.

The tribe has banished people for violence and drug crimes, the paper said. But this is the first time the practice has been used against a public official, the Journal reported.

Harding, who was hired last fall, used to teach on the Flathead Reservation but it's not clear if she is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. She attended Salish Kootenai College, the Journal reported in August.

In 2012, Harding was the target of parent complaints in another district where she served as superintendent, The Montana Standard reported. Her contract was not renewed in January 2014, The Madisonian reported.

Get the Story:
Tribal Council votes to banish Poplar Superintendent (The Fort Peck Journal 5/1)

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