PONDERAY — The Lake Pend Oreille School Board unanimously elected Rachelle Hutchens as the next Zone 2 trustee on Tuesday. 

Hutchens will step into the role at the board’s May meeting and fills the vacancy following Jalon Peters’ resignation in March. Hutchens is new to the area and said she has three children who attend Southside Elementary, who have been positively impacted by the school’s STEM program. 

“I live here remotely with my family, and we moved here predominantly because of the school district and to be a part of a community that we really believed in,” Hutchens said. “We came from a community that was not having great direction in our district, and they were lacking focus on academics. I see a lot of promise in this district, and I'm really excited about being a part of it.” 

In the interview process with the trustees, Hutchens said her goals are to keep the board on track with the district’s strategic plan and mission of serving every student, every day. Hutchens said she feels that she can bring a new perspective to the board as someone who has recently moved to the district. 

During the day, Hutchens serves as the vice president of corporate services at Sigma Design, a Camas, Wash.,-based engineering firm. Hutchens described her role as “the person people call when things go wrong” and said that gives her plenty of experience with crisis management that lends itself to serving on the board. 

“I've had the FBI call because we have a security breach internationally. I've had flooding in our building too, graffiti ... I have seen a lot,” Hutchens said. "I get the right people in the room, have the discussions, ask the hard questions, make sure that we're making data driven decisions.” 

As a parent of LPOSD students, Hutchens said she would use her time at events to check the pulse of parents and spread the word about important issues the district is facing. 

Hutchens said she supported the vast majority of the district’s policies and expressed excitement about the new English Language Arts curriculum headed to elementary schools next year. Hutchens said, once elected, she would push for more STEM curriculum and project-based learning across the district. 

“I would love to see more of the STEM curriculum that Southside has spread to more elementary schools,” Hutchens said. “I think PBLs are super powerful. I cannot say enough good things about how much this transformed my kids and their educational experience.” 

Current Panhandle Health District  board chair Thomas Fletcher was the only other applicant for the trustee position. Fletcher said he applied primarily to work to introduce artificial intelligence into the education system. 

“It's my hunch that AI is more than a fad. I think it's here,” Fletcher said. “I think the possibility of integrating AI into the educational process, if dealt with appropriately, can have a profound impact. I find that challenging. I find it exciting. That's why I'm here to be quite honest with you.” 

Before Trustee Davie DeMers nominated Hutchens, board chair Lonnie Williams said both candidates were very qualified and thanked them for their time. Hutchens was elected unanimously with a 4-0 vote and will be sworn in at the May 19 meeting at the district’s headquarters in Ponderay.