COEUR d'ALENE - Cautiously approaching an unprecedented process, the Kootenai County commissioners hammered out details with the Coeur d'Alene School District trustees on Thursday on how to interview candidates for the vacant trustee seat, which state law dictates the commissioners must appoint.

The elected officials from both boards agreed they were open to receiving suggested interview questions from the public.

The trustees and the commissioners, who will interview candidates together, also agreed that, if deemed legal, they will interview candidates one at a time in front of the public, while the other candidates are sequestered.

"We have some direction, and we will move forward with that," said Commissioner Todd Tondee.

Because the school district's Zone 1 trustee seat has been vacant over 120 days, state law dictates the county commissioners must appoint the new trustee.

Although the commissioners reaffirmed the ultimate decision lies with them, Commissioner Dan Green recognized that they would respect the trustees' opinions after the interviews.

"If the trustees voted four to zip for someone, I would have a hard time not agreeing with your expertise," Green said.

Trustee Tom Hamilton appreciated the approach.

"You get to pick them, but we have to work with them," he said.

He personally would prefer a new trustee with policy making and financial experience, he added, over strictly school-related background.

Having education experience is "a small facet of what it is to be a trustee," he said.

Commissioner Jai Nelson and Trustee Sid Fredrickson had schedule conflicts and were absent from the discussion.

The chief question the boards faced was how to best conduct the interviews in a process open to the public, as required by law.

With historically only five or six candidates for such a position, the trustees have usually interviewed candidates in a group panel format, said Trustee Diane Zipperer, with a written essay question afterward.

"We stayed with the same questions for everybody," she said. "It keeps it more fair."

But Hamilton said he would prefer candidates be interviewed individually, to allow for follow-up questions.

Green agreed, noting that interviewees on a panel can adapt their answers.

"It's either an advantage to the person at the end, because he can rebut the other answers, or it's a disadvantage because we've heard several people with articulate answers," Green said.

Sequestering the other candidates to allow individual interviews could be tricky, the officials acknowledged. As members of the public, the candidates could still sit in on the other interviews.

The officials deemed that they could ask each candidate to waive their rights to do so.

All candidates have to agree, the officials noted.

"If one says no, we'd change the process and have a panel, to make it fair," Tondee said, adding that he will check with the county's legal staff to ensure they are allowed to ask candidates to waive their rights. "It has to be 100 percent."

All the officials agreed on accepting suggested interview questions from the public, with no guarantee they will be used.

"I'm always amazed and very much surprised by what comes out of that process," Tondee said of taking public suggestions.

Information packets about all candidates will be supplied to the trustees and the commissioners before the interviews, they decided.

The commissioners are accepting applications for the trustee seat until 5 p.m. on April 13. Members of the public can drop off suggested interview questions through April 4 at the commissioners office at the Kootenai County Administration Building at 451 Government Way in Coeur d'Alene.

The officials scheduled to hold candidate interviews on the evening of April 26.

Zipperer said she was pleased the trustees and commissioners were meeting to hash out such details.

"It's a good process," she said.