Since January, West Bonner County School Board has been short a representative for Zone 5.

Last week, the vacancy was finally filled by newly appointed board trustee Nicole Butler, a financial educator, mother of children in the school district and master’s student for organizational leadership.

“To be (appointed) to the school board was a proud moment,” Butler said. “I thought it was critical to be able to represent my zone and provide my leadership skills and my education to add to the success of our students in this district.”

The choice for the Zone 5 seat was between Butler and applicant Kathy Nash. Ultimately, Nash believes that her political orientation cost her the seat.

“They (the board) said that I was not bipartisan and I had stated at the very beginning that I was a nonpartisan conservative person and I do not hold a partisan position,” Nash said. “I felt like they shut me out because I sounded like I belonged to a party.”

Although Nash is not a registered Republican, she said that some of her views are conservative and felt she could offer unique representation to the school board.

“I just felt like there were not enough conservative people on the board,” she said. “I feel like there is a reason people are leaving the public schools and it’s because they don’t feel like they can trust their kids under that umbrella … I felt that would be my voice.”

In response, WBCSD Superintendent Paul Anselmo said he didn’t see the WBCSD trustees as being a liberal group. “It truly is a nonpartisan position. It’s not affiliated with a political party ... you are going to run for the school board because you have a heart for kids and want to do the right thing for kids.”

Anselmo said he was impressed with the board of trustees during the interview portion of the evening.

“A lot of times you do an interview the candidate walks out and then you have a real discussion about it,” Anselmo said. “In this particular case, it all occurs in an open meeting. It was just a unique process — that’s the first trustee I have had that was not elected, so that process was new to me.”

Now that Butler is appointed, she hopes to see the school board focus on building a strong business continuity plan to ensure equal learning for all students in West Bonner’s education system during the COVID-19 outbreak.

“I think it’s really time to engage our student and see what learning looks like when we are in uncertain times,” she said.“Whether our students are sitting directly in the classroom or they are using online resources or we are sending them home packets, I think this is a good time to figure out what learning looks for the future.”

Butler previously served as president for the Spokane Chapter of Credit Unions, advocated for credit unions across Washington State and her current work is highly involved with financial education for various school districts in Washington State and Idaho. She is looking forward to collaborating with the superintendent and the school board to make sure children are getting the education they deserve.

“I plan to do this long term," she said. “I think a sucessful school board has dedicated public servants to it.”

“I am just happy to have Mrs. Butler on the board,” Anselmo said. “I think she is going to do a great job.”

The Zone 5 seat was declared vacant in mid-january after confusion over which candidates were eligible to run. The questions emerged in September, after the school district’s election was already underway when two candidates — Todd Sudick and Lesa Souza — filed paperwork for the trustee zones they believed they lived in, based on the maps and legal descriptions the county had on record.

That launched a series of questions, which led to an effort to clarify which map was the right one for voters and candidates, Bonner County Clerk Michael Rosedale said after the matter came to light.

First District Judge Lansing Haynes ruled Jan. 6 that school district’s map and legal description were the ones to be used to determine whether an elected candidate was qualified to be seated. As a result, Sudick was determined to not live in the open Zone 5 seat and the post was declared open.

Following candidate interviews, the school board moved to extend soft closure to June 5, which is just one day before their scheduled graduation date.

“Technically our graduation was going to be on June 6, so that doesn’t preclude us from doing it then,” Anselmo said. “I don’t know the restrictions will be lifted to have that many people, so we are still kicking things around. If it’s cleared up by July, we are going to try to have a graduation in July. It’s important to all us to honor all of those seniors … We are just really proud of them, we would love to honor them.”

This decision was made following Idaho State Board of Education’s decision to extend soft closure of K-12 schools to the end of the school year with the possibility of reopening, however, the board was not interested in reopening at this time.

Anselmo said West Bonner School District’s biggest issue is dealing with Gov. Brad Little’s one percent holdback. He would like to see the 4.2 percent state funding increase for education that was set aside for next year be withheld and the one percent holdback lifted. This way schools won’t be forced to make budget cuts for the remainder of the year.

The meeting ended with approval to waive the first and second reading for a policy to allow the school system to lend out electronic devices to students for distance learning. The next school board meeting is on April 15.