Great Falls commissioners reappoint library board member who opposed library levy

Great Falls city commissioners reappointed Noelle Johnson to the Great Falls Public Library Board of Trustees by a split vote Tuesday night during a lengthy public meeting.

Johnson was serving the remainder of a term that ends on June 30. Her initial appointment was controversial because she publicly opposed the public library levy that passed in 2023. Johnson’s supporters have touted that factor as an alternative voice for the board, a viewpoint that Commissioner Rick Tryon shared.

“She’s shown up at every meeting,” he said during Tuesday’s meeting. “And because she occasionally has a dissenting view, I think that’s a good thing.”

Before the commission’s vote, more public commenters opposed Noelle than supported other candidates. Commissioner Shannon Wilson echoed the characterization of Johnson’s presence on the board as a disruptive force that complicates board work.

“Noelle does do her homework,” Wilson said. “She does thoroughly go through the agenda packet. My problem is when she votes things down quite a bit, but she does not offer why she votes things down. It’s just a ‘no.’”

Commissioners Tryon and Joe McKenney, as well as Mayor Cory Reeves, voted for Johnson’s reappointment. Wilson and Commissioner Susan Wolff voted against the motion.

Wolff and Wilson made motions to get two other candidates approved by the commission on Tuesday. The first was Ashlynn Maczko, a librarian at Great Falls College MSU. After that motion failed, they attempted to get former Mayor Bob Kelly approved by the board. Those motions failed on the same 3-2 vote that later approved Johnson’s reappointment.

Johnson is a health and wellness coach and was an elementary teacher in Great Falls for 18 years. In her application for reappointment, she noted her seven months of experience on the board and a desire to “be aware of the financial impact to the citizens of the community.”

Library board appointments became a point of focus over the past year in Great Falls during a wave of conservative criticism over library operations, including frequent challenges of books and events that feature people who identify as LGBTQ+. Cultural and political disputes led the Montana State Library Commission to sever ties with the National Library Association. 

Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill in May 2023 to make Montana the first state to ban story presentations in schools and libraries by people performing in drag. That law is on hold while a legal challenge continues.

Though Great Falls voters narrowly passed a library levy in 2023, ideological disputes were on display last fall during Johnson’s initial appointment.

The commission made a controversial decision to go against the library board’s recommendations from a field of 11 candidates and appoint Johnson. The final vote came after hours of heated public testimony and discussion among commissioners. 

In her first application for the post, Johnson wrote that she voted against the 2023 library mill levy that passed earlier that year and wanted to represent others who voted against the measure. Supporters rallied around the idea that her anti-levy stance represented a diversity of opinion.

She did not include that point in her second application for reappointment.

After approval of a levy last year, the Great Falls Public Library has increased staff, is open seven days per week for the first time in a decade, and is expanding its mobile services, early literacy programs and digital resources. The passage of the levy in 2023 has also sparked a process to revisit a longstanding financial agreement between the library and the city.

Johnson’s new term expires in 2029. She will continue serving with other board members Jessica Crist, Whitney Olson, Samantha DeForest and Anne Bulger.

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