Candidates Have One Week To File For School Board Posts

Voters could change the face of school boards in the Spokane Valley when they go to the polls in the fall.

Twelve out of 20 school board positions in the Valley will be on the ballot. At nearby Liberty and Orchard Prairie school districts, half the board positions are up for grabs.

At Central Valley, Spokane County’s second largest school district, four out of five school board positions are open.

Those interested in serving on a school board must file their candidacy next week. The elections office, at 1116 W. Broadway, is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Potential candidates must live in the district of the position they seek and must be registered voters.

At CV, Cheryl Knighton, Kay Bryant, Linda Tompkins and Cynthia McMullen all will run for re-election. Only Gary Hann’s position is secure.

At Freeman School District, just south of the Valley, Four of the five positions also will be on the ballot.

One of the four, eight-year board member Denny Weitkamp, does not plan to run for re-election.

“I’ve spent eight years in it, and my kids are all out of the school district,” said Weitkamp. “That’s the sole reason I’m not running again.”

Potential candidates for the Freeman board positions need to be prepared to deal with continued growth and the ongoing question of class schedules, Weitkamp said.

“It’s the type of job, you can make it full-time,” said Weitkamp, who plans to get more involved in volunteering at his church.

At West Valley, both Norma Ventris and Karen Loibl plan to run for re-election. At East Valley, Tim Wick will seek re-election, but Brenda Lobdell has decided to bow out after nine years on the board.

“I think it’s time for me to do other things,” said Lobdell, whose two children graduated from East Valley.

Nothing can prepare someone completely to serve on the school board, Lobdell said, but a background in financial planning helps.

She said her greatest challenge while on the board was to keep the quickly growing district up to date in terms of technology.

At Orchard Prairie, at-large positions one, two and three, held respectively by Melodie Miner, Terri Bonallo and James Strandy, are open.

At Liberty, director districts one and five, held by Dean Lyon and Sharon Colby, are open.

, DataTimes