Many rural schools rely on international teachers. Trump's visa changes threaten that
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Maria Cristina Tomimbang has taught middle school math for 22 years — 18 years in the Philippines and four years in Montana.
"It's really such a blessing," she says of her job in the Hardin Public Schools. "I love the community."
Hardin, a town of 4,000 about an hour east of Billings and just off the Crow Indian Reservation, is a place that has had trouble attracting teachers.
"We don't have candidates," says Tobin Novasio, the district's superintendent. Earlier in his career, he says that if he posted an elementary teacher position, at least 20 people would apply.
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