Josh Hart wants to be in the room where tough decisions are made — and he’s not afraid to make them happen.
Hart is one of 10 candidates vying to serve on the USD 258 school board. Voters will decide on Nov. 7 which four will represent the Humboldt district.
Hart said he’s running for multiple reasons but it all comes down to one thing: “what’s best for the kids.”
Hart grew up in Humboldt and now works as a mix chemist for Monarch Cement Co. He and wife, Sarah, have four children. Caleb, 23, and Addison, 20, have graduated from Humboldt High School, while Asher, 17, and Carlin, 13, are still in school.
As his children have grown up, Hart kept busy coaching them through various sports — basketball, baseball, softball — through the city’s recreation department. His wife also was involved in the school system.
He didn’t think about serving on the school board until current board member Tony Works — who is also running — asked him to consider it.
It made sense to Hart, for some very personal reasons. He has been in recovery from alcohol and drug misuse for six years. Service is an important part of recovery.
“The people in this town could have shunned me, but they didn’t,” he said. “Now I want to give back to my community and be of service.”
That experience gives him a unique perspective. He understands that life can bring many challenges and, sometimes, it takes a village to solve them.
“I’m not afraid to have hard conversations. The only way to fix something is to talk about it,” he said.
THE HART family also knows what it’s like to be part of the school system.
Sarah previously worked for the district as a paraprofessional. She enjoyed the job very much but ultimately left because of pay and a lack of benefits such as health insurance, Josh said.
“She loved the job. She loved the kids,” Josh said. “It’s too bad that it comes down to money, but with inflation and everything else that’s happening in the country right now, that’s just how it is.”
That was one of the main reasons he did not support a plan to switch to a four-day school week, a proposal that was voted down 5-2 last spring.
He believes the plan could have been harmful to some students, especially those in low-income families or those who do not have an ideal home life.
