Storli reflects on 40 years in public service 

William S. Hart Union High School Distric Governing Board Member Linda Storli, right, welcomes Castaic High School freshman students as they arrive for their first day of school at the new Castaic High School in Castaic on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019. Dan Watson/The Signal
William S. Hart Union High School Distric Governing Board Member Linda Storli, right, welcomes Castaic High School freshman students as they arrive for their first day of school at the new Castaic High School in Castaic on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019. Dan Watson/The Signal
Share
Tweet
Email

Linda Storli has visited 111 different countries throughout her life. She even spent some time living in Norway, which is where she first found her love of teaching. 

After marrying her first husband, Tom, who was originally from Norway, the two decided to move to his home country. 

Once there, Storli started taking a Norwegian writing class at a high school. The principal went up to her one day and offered her a job as an English teacher. 

“He said, ‘Our English teacher quit. You’re my new English teacher,’” Storli recalled. “And I said, ‘I’m nobody’s English teacher.’ And he says, ‘You’ve got a degree.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, in political science.’ And he goes, ‘Good. It’s now an English and American government class.’” 

After taking part in her first class as a teacher, Storli said she had her “a-ha moment.” 

“I walked in, and it was where I was meant to be,” Storli said. 

Superintendent Michael Vierra and William S. Hart Union High School District governing board members pose with former board president Linda Storli at a reception in her honor held at the district office on Wednesday night. Dec. 18, 2024 Maya Morales/The Signal
Superintendent Michael Vierra and William S. Hart Union High School District governing board members pose with former board president Linda Storli at a reception in her honor held at the district office on Wednesday night. Dec. 18, 2024 Maya Morales/The Signal

That began the start of a life dedicated to education.  

After moving back to the United States with her husband and two children, Storli got her teaching credential and found a job as a history teacher at Canyon High School, where she remained for 30 years. 

“I loved it from the first day — loved every day, loved every single minute, unless I was sick, loved it every single day,” Storli said. “Would not do anything else for the rest of my life, I’d be happy.” 

History was always interesting to Storli, she said, because without it, people are likely to keep making the same mistakes. 

“I think you need to know how we got here,” Storli said, “and if we don’t know the truth about this, if we try to erase the truth, which is what some groups would like to do — I’m so angry that we treated the Native Americans terribly, angry about it. But we got to teach it. We can’t say it didn’t happen.” 

During her time as a teacher, Storli became known as the teacher with a Corvette, a car that she said she remembered seeing as a child and wanting to own one day. 

Students at Canyon High check out Linda Storli's new Corvette during her time as a teacher at the school before retiring in 2015. Courtesy photo.
Students at Canyon High check out Linda Storli’s new Corvette during her time as a teacher at the school before retiring in 2015. Courtesy photo.

“I was 8 years old, and the man across the street drove in with a brand-new Corvette,” Storli recalled. “And I said, ‘I want that car.’ I was always a car person. My dad was a car person, motorcycles and cars. My mother drove a Harley on Saturday and went to church on Sunday.” 

After her teaching career, she moved on to sitting on the William S. Hart Union High School District governing board for 10 years before her final term ended in December. 

But that process nearly began 10 years earlier when Storli first put her name on the ballot. Saying she felt a need for a teacher to be part of the decision-making process at a district level, she realized only too late that she would have to give up her job as a teacher to be on the governing board. 

“At that point in time, there had never been someone that gone from the Hart classroom to the school board,” Storli said, “and I really saw, in my opinion, things that were being purchased, money being spent for, things that really didn’t do what they were supposed to do.” 

She eventually did make her way to the governing board, and in her 10 years as a trustee, she helped to oversee the opening of Castaic High School in 2019 and the Hart High mascot change from “Indians” to “Hawks,” a decision that was made in 2021 before becoming fully established in 2024. 

Outside the education system, Storli also served on a presidential commission while in college and on the city of Santa Clarita’s formation committee. 

William S. Hart Union School District Board Member Linda Storli, left, and Hart High School principal Jason d'Autremont chat before the mascot change unveiling in the Hart High School auditorium in Newhall on Tuesday, 031924.  Dan Watson/The Signal
William S. Hart Union School District Board Member Linda Storli, left, and Hart High School principal Jason d’Autremont chat before the mascot change unveiling in the Hart High School auditorium in Newhall on Tuesday, 031924. Dan Watson/The Signal

The commission, she said, was made up of about 200 college students from across the country and was formed by President Richard Nixon to see what they felt about the Vietnam War. 

After much deliberation, the commission was able to convince Nixon to end the draft system. 

“We were able to convince him, even though I had reservations, if you only have volunteers in a war, then you only have people that like war, and if you have people that don’t want to be there, you’ve got some pushback,” Storli said. 

While she was a teacher, Storli was part of the committee tasked with forming the city of Santa Clarita.  

Originally, there was an idea to create an entirely new county instead of incorporating a city, but Storli said that idea was quashed due to the area that would come to be known as Santa Clarita being “a cash cow” for L.A. County. 

“I wanted to learn about local government, so I started attending the meetings, and then I got excited about it, and then I got excited about being part of it,” Storli said. 

Dennis Koontz, left, and his wife Linda Storli display the new Dennis Koontz  trailhead sign presented during the Dennis Koontz Trailhead Dedication ceremony held at Tesoro Adobe Park in Valencia on Friday, 100821.  Dan Watson/The Signal
Dennis Koontz, left, and his wife Linda Storli display the new Dennis Koontz trailhead sign presented during the Dennis Koontz Trailhead Dedication ceremony held at Tesoro Adobe Park in Valencia on Friday, 100821. Dan Watson/The Signal

While Storli ran for the first City Council, she didn’t end up making the cut, but was instead appointed to the city’s first Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission. 

That’s where she worked with Dennis Koontz, who did end up on the first City Council and eventually became Storli’s second husband. 

The two have stayed together ever since. 

While her time in public service is seemingly at an end, Storli said she still has plans to keep herself busy, whether it be possibly teaching at College of the Canyons or helping the Hart district out in some fashion. 

But above all else, Storli is proud of raising her two children and seeing her grandchildren excelling in life. 

“Just watching them grow and mature into amazing people,” Storli said. 

Related To This Story

Latest NEWS