Post Falls School Board race draws former district principal challenging incumbent

Both candidates in a race for Post Falls Board of Trustees have experience with the district: one as the incumbent trustee and the other as a former teacher and principal of more than two decades.

Candidate Neil Uhrig, a secret service agent, is hoping voters grant him a second term on the board, where he plans to serve another four years and then hang up his hat when his high schoolers graduate.

He is proud of time as a trustee in which Post Falls has topped the Idaho ranks for early literacy two years in a row. This is one metric of many to come that he said will establish Post Falls’ reputation as “the premier school district in Northern Idaho.”

Challenger Brad Harmon is in his first year as principal at Kellogg Middle School; before that, he worked for 21 years in Post Falls in classroom teaching and school administration, also working in other North Idaho schools.

Harmon was compelled to run after recent dissatisfaction with recent board decisions on spending and staffing that he said do not prioritize the kids.

“The school board has a responsibility to the students first, to the staff second, and then to the district office third,” Harmon said. “Unfortunately, right now, they have it the other way around: they are answering to the district office.”

Harmon’s list of grievances includes the promotion of Anna Wilson into a deputy superintendent role, which included a pay bump from her salary of $138,000 to $140,000, according to KREM2 news. While adding the new position to district administration, the district left several teaching positions unfilled, as well as a counselor position at the alternative high school and two middle school assistant principal positions, Harmon said.

“That doesn’t make sense to me,” Harmon said. “You’re taking money away from the kids, is really what you’re doing. You’re taking away those school-level supports and adding a district level.”

Uhrig defended the board’s move to promote Wilson as a strategic decision to prepare for Superintendent Dena Naccarato’s retirement at the end of this school year. Wilson will be in Naccarato’s “hip pocket,” Uhrig said, learning the ropes of leading a school district. Upon Naccarato’s retirement, Wilson will be promoted to interim superintendent while the board undertakes the time-intensive process of hiring a successor.

If the board had not lined up an interim, it would have already started the hiring process for next school year, Uhrig said. With the election in mind, Uhrig called that “irresponsible.”

“If I don’t get elected, I’m setting this up so they have the opportunity to make this hiring decision. Otherwise, half of the decision would have already been made by me now, we will already have accepted applications and weeded out some, and they wouldn’t have been privy to that.”

In Post Falls, elementary school kids are tested on a monthly basis to measure academic progress. Harmon takes issue with the recurring testing, while Uhrig said it is a state requirement.

By testing so frequently, Harmon said it erodes students’ relationships with their teachers and also gives teachers less freedom in their lessons by focusing so much on test scores. This in turn affects attendance and teacher retention, he said.

“There’s a lot more that goes into education than just the books,” Harmon said. “So if you know your kids, and your kids know that you care about them, they’re willing to work for you, and you’re still going to see higher test scores.”

Uhrig also said the testing isn’t “healthy,” but said the data has been useful for the district. He credited it in part to the rise in kindergarten literacy, a metric for which Post Falls led the state two years in a row. Test scores also clued Uhrig in to what should be the district’s next academic focus: math.

“I remember tests, too; I think we all do and we hate them. But how else do we make that measure?” Uhrig said. “Otherwise, it becomes very subjective by a teacher saying, ‘This kid is here, this kid is here.’ No, the numbers are what they say.”

Both candidates lauded the transition Post Falls made two years ago to a four-day school week, noting the improvements it brought in student attendance, achievement and teacher retention.

Teacher retention is a focus for both candidates, noting the allure of a higher paycheck just a stone’s throw away in Washington schools.

Post Falls’ teacher retention rate is 81.6%, according to Idaho Education News, compared to the statewide average of around 88%.

Uhrig said the four-day work week has been an effective tool to keep teachers in Post Falls, as well as a recent salary bump for teachers and occasional bonuses when there is funding available. Other supports like the hiring of reading interventionists to take the load off teachers are also helpful, he said.

“We do things like that, but ultimately, I’d like to give them more money. It’s just, I don’t know where we even get it,” Uhrig said.

Harmon said more effective leadership who understand the needs of classroom teachers would aid in teacher retention. He said he’d be able to provide that leadership as the only trustee with educator experience, if elected. He advocated for giving teachers more flexibility in their classrooms beyond “teaching to a test.”

“There’s a lot of teacher retention that’s based on leadership,” Harmon said. “I think if you look around, teachers that are happy with the leadership are more willing to stay despite the money.”

Election Day is November 4.