COEUR d'ALENE — If school districts can't find anyone interested in a vacancy on its board after 120 days, who do they turn to?

Why the county commissioners, of course.

Such is the situation with the Kootenai School District in Harrison and surrounding areas.

After Kayleen Walker resigned from the board for personal reasons, the district advertised its Zone 1 opening for 90 days with no letters of interest submitted. Zone 1 includes the east side of Lake Coeur d'Alene, including the northern part of Harrison, Elk Road as the northern boundary and Van Dusen as the southern boundary.

The district then opened up the position to residents district-wide (all zones) for 30 days, but, again, no luck.

So now, under state law, the Kootenai County commissioners are assigned the task of finding Kootenai's newest school board member.

Lynette Ferguson, Kootenai's superintendent, said while this is a first for the district, she's not overly surprised because she has heard such scenarios are occurring more often across the state. Kootenai is a rural district and serving on school boards is a major commitment.

"We're an extremely rural district, so a lot of people would need to drive a half an hour to make the meetings and there's no pay or reimbursement," she said. "When people live out, they may already travel quite a bit for their employment.

"With a lot of changes that have been happening in education, serving on a school board is a lot of responsibility. I don't think a lot of people understand how difficult serving on a school board really is."

Ferguson said some board members have put in 14 to 16 years of service.

"Finding people who are willing to dedicate that much time is tough," she said.

About 300 people live in Kootenai's Zone 1. The school district has 158 students and has had a decrease in enrollment since the recession.

"We're hoping we've bottomed out," Ferguson said. "Our kindergarten class is expected to be larger than it has been the past two years, so that's a good sign."

County commissioners were also called upon to select a Coeur d'Alene School District board member in 2012 when James Purtee was picked for the Zone 1 seat.

The school district board's prior appointment of Wanda Quinn to the Zone 1 seat had been nullified by a district court judge when it was discovered the voting process had not followed legal procedure. That seat had also been vacant for more than 120 days.

Ferguson said that, while some people were thinking about submitting a letter of interest for the vacancy with the Kootenai district during the 120 days, no one actually followed through.

Then, after the district called upon the county as required under the law, two residents, Mark Keough and Jim Stryker, submitted letters of interest. Both residents live outside Zone 1 but within the school district.

The district has forwarded those letters to the county for consideration.

Commissioner Dan Green said the county will advertise the position in local newspapers to see if any other candidates come forth. Commissioners will then interview the candidates and make a decision to fill the seat.

While commissioners are not required to fill the vacancy with someone residing in Zone 1, Green said whether a candidate lives in that zone would be one of many factors he would consider when making a decision.

"If a person who fills the seat lives outside that zone, they wouldn't be able to seek re-election (when the term is up)," he said.

The term of the board seat ends on June 30, 2017. Jessica Ausman, who was elected to the seat, also resigned for personal reasons before Walker was appointed.

Green said he hopes commissioners can select a school board member within a month.

Ferguson said it's a relief that at least two residents have submitted letters of interest.

"Both candidates have students in the district and are involved so I think we're in good shape," she said.