COEUR d'ALENE - The school trustee hopefuls who attended the Coeur d'Alene Education Partnership's candidate forum on Tuesday all said they believe a school board position is and should be a nonpartisan one.

Some of the newcomers seeking election, speaking to a crowd of about 120 in the Coeur d'Alene Public Library's Community Room, said they are running for seats on the Coeur d'Alene School District's Board of Trustees because the entity currently lacks political and philosophical balance and diversity.

"This is supposed to be a nonpartisan school board. We're supposed to be focused on what's best for children, how can we help our education professionals. ..We're not supposed to be focused on partisan political issues," said Tom Hearn, who's running against Bjorn Handeen for the Zone 5 seat now held by Jim Hightower.

Hightower, who was appointed to the board last summer, is not seeking election. Handeen did not attend the forum.

Hearn, a clinical social worker and owner of a private mental health clinic in Coeur d'Alene, said he has been asked partisan questions as he campaigns, questions like how he feels about Obamacare, and he refuses to answer them.

"That's one of the problems, I think, that people perceive that this un-elected board - three of the five positions are un-elected; they're appointed positions - people perceive that there is a certain political bias on that board. We'll know three weeks from today whether or not people agree with the direction the board is going or not. But I don't like the partisan politics. I will not go on the board, if I'm elected, and be listening to one particular political party and trying to promote their agenda."

Christa Hazel, a school volunteer and parent who holds a legal degree, is running against appointee Brent Regan for the Zone 1 seat. Hazel said the school board positions should be nonpartisan.

"While some of us choose to put labels on ourselves, if we're acting that way, I would question the motives behind it," Hazel said.

Regan said, "Of course, it's nonpartisan. You have the directive; you have trust to ensure education. That isn't a Republican thing or a Democrat thing. I happen to be a Republican, and that informs people about my mindset."

Anyone can be labeled a Republican, he said, by checking off a box on a party affiliation form. Conservatives simply state that's what they are, Regan said.

"But there's one thing that you have to prove, and that's success. I've been successful. I know how to be successful. I've been successful for the last 32 years in business," Regan said. " I've been married for 27 years, raised three fine children. I know what success on that level is, and so far, I think I've been pretty successful on the board. So, that's what I'm bringing to the table - success."

Dave Eubanks, who is running against appointed trustee Ann Seddon for the Zone 4 position, said, in his opening statement, that he is a "political independent."

Eubanks, a recently retired Coeur d'Alene public school teacher, said he is seeking election to "bring a measure of balance to our school board where currently there is none, where the attention of this board, including that of my opponent, seems heavily focused, not on educating our kids, but on promoting a political agenda."

During the question and answer period, Eubanks said he's passionate about education, and questioned why politics should be part of any discussion on the subject.

"This election will be a game-changer for our community. The winners will either be our kids or a political party," Eubanks said, in his closing statement.

Seddon, who did not attend the forum, sent written opening and closing statements that were read to the audience.

"I am a conservative, and because I believe in transparency, I chose to run as a Republican. I want voters to know who I am and what I believe," wrote Seddon, a retired teacher.

In closing, Eubanks compared his experience as a public school teacher to his opponent's. Seddon claims 30 years of teaching experience.

Eubanks said he commends Seddon for serving for the last 10 months on the board, and "for her efforts with little ones in Mesa, Ariz., some 20 years ago."

He said Seddon taught kindergarten, first and third grades back then.

"I appreciate that. I applaud her for that, and I applaud her for her tutoring efforts with individual students through the years, and for her work in day care and nursery school," Eubanks said. "But I think she comes up a bit short on the qualifications."

Eubanks said that in more than four decades, he has taught every grade level from kindergarten through 12th, except for fourth, and taught multiple subjects at the secondary level. He said he has coached basketball and led students through multiple community service projects.

"I've had about 15,000 kids in 43 years, and I think that I could bring a depth and a wisdom about public school and teachers and kids, and it would greatly benefit our community," Eubanks said.

Hearn and Eubanks, who were both asked whether Coeur d'Alene's schools are safe, each said students must be protected.

The crowd erupted in laughter when Eubanks was asked if he thinks teachers should be armed, as a safety measure.

"I know too many teachers to say 'Yes,' to that," Eubanks said.

Once the audience quieted, he said he thinks arming teachers is a "very bad idea."

The candidates were all asked if they think the Coeur d'Alene School District's financial need extends beyond the district's total budget of $80 million.

Hearn said the budget is less than it was in 2009, and that the state Legislature has not adequately funded schools.

A two-year maintenance and operations levy passed by voters in March should have been set at an amount higher than it was, Hearn said, acknowledging that he would be criticized for taking that position.

The levy will bring $12.9 million per year into the district's general operating fund for each of the next two years. Trustees set the levy amount in January with the knowledge that the district would face a $3 million shortfall in the 2013-14 budget. The board stated at the time that they didn't want to risk pushing "taxpayer tolerance" to the point where the levy would fail and the district would lose about one-fifth of its operating budget. They are now trying to find a way to fill the gap next year.

"I think the levy was set too low. They knew going into this that there would be cuts," Hearn said.

Eubanks said he thinks the district can live within the budget it has, and suggested they consider consolidating positions at the district's central office.

Hazel said the district needs to look at operating more efficiently rather than expanding the budget. She also said the board and administration needs to be more "responsive to the public," and they need to look at every line item in the budget, "not just the ones that serve a political agenda."

Regan responded to Hazel's claim about the board's lack of responsiveness to the public, and for a moment, the forum veered toward becoming a debate.

He said one of the first things he did in his four months on the board was tour the schools to see what safety enhancements could be made.

"I authored a white paper on school safety that we then used for determining the bond amount," Regan said.

He said the board then dialogued with the community on how to improve safety. He said he went to Boise to lobby legislators to return money to the districts after the repeal of the Students Come First reforms, and campaigned to pass the maintenance and operations levy.

"I even went to the John Birch Society to convince them to pay more taxes. I was successful," Regan said.

Of the four candidates present, Regan was the only one with concerns about the Common Core Standards now being put in place in Idaho.

When asked if they thought the teachers union is good for students, Hazel said it can be, because when they negotiate, in addition to bargaining for salary and benefits, they engage in negotiations about class sizes, school safety and other student-related matters.

"What I find unfortunate with the teachers union, is that they have an attitude that it is an adversarial relationship," Regan said. "In all my years, and in all the people I've hired, and all the people that have worked for me, I've never viewed it as an adversarial relationship. I've always viewed it as a partnership...and fair wages, and good treatment and respect are all part of that. So, for me, it's a bit of a culture shock in dealing with the union."

The forum was moderated by members of The Coeur Group.