School Board Gets An Earful Over Election Void Outcome, Say Patrons Rankled By Fliers Sent Home With Kids

Several angry patrons called on the school board Monday to declare last month’s trustee election null and void.

In a tense meeting, two defeated candidates and their supporters scolded the board for allowing the parent-teacher organization at Ponderosa Elementary School to distribute fliers to students endorsing the incumbents.

“Our children were not the appropriate channels to propagandize for your re-election,” said Mary Rutkowski, who lost the zone 5 race to incumbent Ed Adamchak 221-140.

Superintendent Dick Harris called the distribution “inappropriate” and presented a set of guidelines to prevent it from happening again.

Information supporting a political position or candidate should not be sent home with students, according to Harris’ policy. Announcements of school activities, parent organization newsletters, parks and recreation information, and community activity fliers are still OK for parents to receive from their children.

“We just have to make sure that line is not crossed,” Harris said. “In this case it was.”

Dee Lawless, who lost the zone 4 race to incumbent Donagene Turnbow 160-114, said the matter should be referred to a grand jury and to the state Department of Education for investigation. She has contacted assistant U.S. attorney Barry McHugh to look into the election.

McHugh said last week he is reviewing the case to see if there are any “federal law implications.”

“It would be the honorable thing to declare the May 18 election null and void,” Lawless said.

Both Adamchak and Turnbow said they knew nothing about the endorsement fliers before the election, but said they are proud to be supported by parent organizations.

Turnbow chided Rutkowski for not attending the scheduled candidate debate.

“Where were you the night of the forum and what were you doing?” Turnbow asked.

“That’s none of your business,” Rutkowski said.

Parent Mary Girton said she is so disgusted with the Post Falls School District that her son is in private school.

“The carpet is getting really bumpy,” Girton told the board. “You’re running out of places to hide things.”

Later, after Harris presented the distribution guidelines, Girton walked out of the room, saying, “The carpet’s getting a little lumpy, better be careful.”

Adamchak said distributing the fliers may not have been the politically correct thing to do. But he said he resents the criticism heaped on parent organizations.

“To make them look like a bunch of criminals is just horrible,” he said. “These are moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas.”