School Race Field Crowded Four Vying For Single Seat On Boundary County Board

The most contested school board contest in North Idaho is in Boundary County, where four people are competing for one spot.

All the candidates for the May 16 election say they’re concerned about declining economic conditions in their community.

And most say the district needs new schools, but can’t raise the money to build them.

Zone 1 covers the county’s northwest corner, stretching north from Kaniksu Street in Bonners Ferry and west from the Kootenai River.

Candidates include a rancher and retired teacher; a businesswoman and community activist; a district court clerk; and a power plant operator.

“We’re really in need of a junior high. I don’t think anybody’s against it. The problem is - how do you pay for it?” asked candidate Bill Hays, a 67-year-old rancher who moved to the county in 1961. Hays grows wheat and raises cattle. He said the county is in a “crisis situation” due to a declining timber and agriculture economy. Schools have fallen victim to a falling tax base, he said.

“Taxpayers want to get by the best they can, then see what happens with the economy,” he said.

Hays also was a teacher for 35 years in Washington schools before retiring in 1989. He taught history, physical education and math, and coached. His three children are teachers and he has grandchildren in Boundary County schools.

“Being involved in the school business for 35 years, you have a good idea of how schools operate,” Hays said.

“I don’t have all the answers, but I’m willing to work at it.”

Hays said he also understands the perspective of cattlemen and loggers due to his years of ranching. Those perspectives, he said, should serve him well on the school board.

“It’s just a matter of voters deciding who they think is best qualified to help them at this point,” he said.

Candidate Linda Lederhos likewise believes the community is supportive of schools, but is concerned about how the money is spent.

“We need to work on educating the people and building better trust,” said the 39-year-old. Lederhos has three girls who are in the 12th, ninth and seventh grades in Boundary County schools. She and her husband own E.L. Automation, a company which automates machinery for the wood-products industry. They also own Rainbow Sails, a zoo in Bonners Ferry.

Lederhos, sister-in-law of county commissioner Kevin Lederhos, also serves on parent-teacher organizations, oversees Girl Scout troops and works with a program that provides clothing and toys to needy children.

Despite her activities, Lederhos said she will have time to serve on the school board.

“I’m already involved in the schools,” she said. “I’m at the games, the dances. A lot of what I feel a school board member needs to be in touch with, I’m already doing.”

Lederhos said the principle issue she is concerned about is school upkeep and maintenance. But she acknowledges that funding is always an issue. She said money issues will be better handled if people are convinced that the money is being spent properly.

“I want people to realize they have a say-so in our schools,” she said. “We’ve got to let them feel like they’re important.”

Jeannie Robinson also wants to search for new solutions to funding problems. She’d like to see a new high school built, but doesn’t think the community will support paying for it with property taxes.

“I’d like to be able to find a solution,” said the 53-year-old district court clerk. “I know people ahead of me have tried. I know it’s difficult because property taxes every year have to go further.”

Robinson has lived in Boundary County most of her life. She has two children who teach school in the county and has grandchildren who attend the schools.

“I’ve lived here forever and I’ve watched my community. I want this community to thrive for my grandchildren and their grandchildren,” she said. “I’d lke to be able to rebuild our county and I know a good education system is vital.”

Robinson helps raise money for 4-H activities and helps with the county fair. She said she hasn’t been involved in school activities recently, but always supports school projects financially.

Robinson said she’d like to research what other counties have done to alleviate the reliance on property taxes. She said she’d also like to talk to parents who home-school their children to find out why. Districts receive state funding based on attendance, and having those children back in the public schools could help the district financially, she said.

“I would like to have the whole community getting together to work as a unit,” she said. “That’s my goal.”

Fred Zobel also wants to see improved communication between the community and the school district, especially regarding facilities. He proposes sending out a monthly letter to patrons to keep them updated on developments.

“I don’t have any specific ideas of what should be done, but I think that as a board, they could make some plans to put away some money and try to save ahead as much as possible,” said Zobel, 41.

Zobel said he’d like to find a way to fund schools other than property taxes.

Though he has home-schooled his children in the past, Zobel’s two children are now at Bonners Ferry High School. He is a power plant operator and has lived in Boundary County for 13 years.

Zobel ran for school board last year, but was defeated by Tim Rhyne.

Zobel also is assistant executive director of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Creston, B.C., which he said he attends because it is more conservative and just as close as the Lutheran church in Bonners Ferry.

“I’m a fairly conservative person and I wouldn’t swallow everything that comes from the federal government,” Zobel said, pointing to the district’s school-to-work program as something he is “not too fond of.”

“I don’t like the strings that are usually attached to federal programs and grants,” he said. “It’s too easy to become dependent on them.”