Budget is big schools issue

A maintenance worker and a real estate agent are vying for the Coeur d’Alene School Board Zone 1 seat in the only contested school board race in Kootenai County. Voters will cast their ballots this Tuesday, a week before Idaho’s primary election.

Robert Chadwick, a maintenance worker at Macy’s and a former custodian for the school district, said having a daughter in the public school system sparked his interest in the Zone 1 school board position, which encompasses the area east of 15th Street.

“I think I can offer some guidance for the district,” said Chadwick, whose daughter is in eighth grade at Lakes Middle School.

Chadwick lost a bid for the same seat three years ago to incumbent Wanda Quinn. Quinn is not seeking reelection, and Chadwick said he wanted to make sure voters have more than one choice when they go to the polls.

His opponent, Edie Brooks, previously served eight years on the board.

“I wasn’t ready to be off at the time, but I moved,” Brooks said.

A real estate agent, Brooks said she’s disappointed the $40 million school bond levy didn’t pass in March and wants to help build trust between the school district and its constituents.

“I think one of my strengths is I’m a budget watchdog,” Brooks said. “I think that the budget requires close scrutiny, because the public, they not only demand but they have a right to accountability.”

Chadwick, too, cited fiscal responsibility as a key issue.

“Budget accountability is pretty important if you’re going to convince voters to support the schools,” the Cottonwood native said.

Chadwick said the unpredictability of voters makes a transparent school board a necessity.

“I think getting information out to them is about all you can do,” he said.

Brooks said making sure the public stays informed and involved will help future bond levies get more support.

“I think we got kind of away from that in the last couple of years, of not really engaging the public in what we’re doing, when we’re doing it and why we’re doing it,” Brooks said.

She grew up in New York and was the first in her family to attend college, making her a “living example” of why education is key, she said.

“Schools have been my passion from before I had kids,” she said.

Brooks moved to Coeur d’Alene in 1989, despite being warned about what some said were low-quality schools.

“When they said that, I thought, ‘This is too beautiful of a place to have that kind of reputation of not having good schools,’ ” she said.

Chadwick said he wants to help improve education for all students.

“I have the time and would like to be part of making it better,” he said.