*This article was originally published in the Spokesman-Review on Nov. 5 and 6 by Samantha Fuller.
There will be three board member seats voted on in the Nov. 7 election.
Zone 1
Lakeland School Board member Randi Bain has the rare distinction of uniting competing factions of Republicans in Kootenai County.
In her bid to retain her seat in Tuesday’s election, she’s earned the endorsement of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, which generally endorses candidates on the far right, and the North Idaho Republicans, which tends to favor more moderate choices.
Among the 14 races in which both organizations made endorsements in the November election, Bain’s bid to keep her seat representing Zone 1 in the Lakeland Joint School District and Joe Malloy’s re-election bid for Post Falls City Council are the only two contests in which the organizations agree.
“I want to ensure that our students are receiving a strong educational foundation from which to build their life successes, our teachers have an effective curriculum to teach and our community values are respected,” Bain said.
She faces Kyle Olmstead in Tuesday’s election. Olmstead did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.
After being in the position for about two and a half years, Bain feels like she is the best choice for her zone.
“I am running to maintain my position on the Lakeland School District Board of Trustees because I want to ensure that our students are receiving a strong educational foundation from which to build their life successes, our teachers have an effective curriculum to teach and our community values are respected,” Bain said.
Bain said her goal is to maintain a healthy status in school learning.
“It is important that we have a strong, unbiased curriculum that focuses on academics and prepares students for their future,” Bain said.
Another main concern for Bain is finding new funding as the district grows. With the immense growth the Lakeland Joint School District has seen, accommodations have to be made to the schools.
Bain supported the levies that Lakeland voters approved in May.
“Our area lacks the big businesses to carry the lion’s share of property taxes. That burden falls on the shoulders of our citizens,” Bain said. “I am dedicated to seeking alternative funding opportunities to minimize that burden to our taxpayers.”
With more than 29 years of experience in accounting, she said her experience is important in helping to set the budget.
“My financial background provides me with the knowledge to identify inefficiencies and find solutions to help our district thrive,” Bain said. “I will continue to listen with intent to understand and act with determination to do what is right for the Lakeland Joint School District community.”
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Zone 2
Candidates running for Zone 2 on the board that oversees the Lakeland Joint School District have opposing views on levies that divided the North Idaho school district earlier this year.
The levies failed to pass in a March election but were approved by voters in a second attempt in May.
Ramona Grissom, vice chair of the Lakeland School Board, opposed the levies.
Her opponent, Cherish Hansen, supported them.
Grissom is finishing her first term, but she said she hasn’t been able to focus on some of her goals as a result of the pandemic.
“Most of my time as a trustee was spent serving during a pandemic, so I didn’t get to make many decisions that weren’t based on COVID-19 or somehow related to the pandemic,” Grissom said. “Unfortunately, this made the atmosphere inharmonious and fueled by conflicting opinions.”
If elected again, however, Grissom hopes to create a “clear vision” for the community.
She hopes to add more programs for students involving music, construction, aerospace and shop.
In order to keep up with the growth that is happening in North Idaho, Grissom believes maintenance within the schools should be another top priority.
“I advocated for the update to Lakeland Middle School, Athol Elementary and Spirit Lake Elementary, and I would like to see some of our other facilities updated, too,” Grissom said. “Our community is growing and our district will need to grow with it.”
Hansen believes the first step is building trust and communication between the school, parents, teachers and students.
If elected, she said her first step will be to create more involvement.
“There seems to be a great divide right now,” Hansen said. “Parents are worried about what their kids are learning, and teachers feel mislabeled and unappreciated. Schools are the cornerstone of our community, and we should be working together with healthy respect and teamwork.”
Hansen first noticed missing communication when the two levies failed on March 14 with about 27.8% voter turnout. The district asked voters a second time, and they approved of the levies on May 16.
“The failure of the levy became a huge concern, as it threatened to lose funding for our elective teachers, smaller-sized classrooms, all athletics and extracurricular activities, and more,” Hansen said. “Then, I learned that some of our board members did not support the levy.”
Grissom voted no on the levies in May. She said the levies did not represent what voters wanted.
Transparency within the district would be Hansen’s ultimate goal if elected.
Hansen also has doubts about the health programs within the district. The district had a contract with Heritage Health that allowed health care at school for students and had been discontinued and then reinstated.
“Gratefully, the board agreed to reinstate the contract with Heritage Health, but has canceled another program that would help with student mental health,” Hansen said. “This is important to me, as our district has suffered the loss of several students to suicide in recent years.”
With the experience from her past four years as a board member, Grissom believes her dedication to keeping students in school learning has proven her capability for the position.
“Despite the challenges, my utmost priority has been to ensure that our students’ education remains uninterrupted,” Grissom said. “I am not a teacher and I have no affiliation with education unions like my opponent. Instead, I make decisions solely guided by my role as a taxpayer, a member of the community and an elected representative of the people. I take pride in serving the community with impartiality and ensuring that our students receive the best education possible, regardless of any challenges we may face.”
Hansen believes her hands-on involvement is what the board needs. Having a tight-knit community with good communication is important to have within the district, Hansen said.
“I care about our community,” Hansen said. “My husband and I, along with friends, coaches and teachers, have worked together for a long time for our kids.
“I am not here to accuse and tear down. Rather, I work with people, listen and look for solutions.”
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Zone 3
Sheila Holfeltz says the board leading the Lakeland Joint School District needs a new direction. She’s challenging the board’s chair, Michelle Thompson, in Tuesday’s election for Zone 3.
“I think we need to work on building trust and transparency with the school district and the community and find ways to come together,” she said.
Attempts made to reach Thompson were unsuccessful. She is backed by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee. Thompson’s website says she has strong beliefs in “protecting female spaces; face masks and vaccines should not be mandated; and Critical Race Theory has NO place in public education,” based on a note by Jacqueline Myers, treasurer for Thompson, on the website.
Another main goal of Thompson’s has been to “keep our schools free from radical gender ideology and free from politicization,” according to Thompson’s website.
Holfeltz said that if elected she will make sure everyone involved has a say.
“I am open-minded and level-headed,” she said. “I make decisions based on facts and logic and not emotions or political agendas.”
Holfeltz is backed by the North Idaho Republicans and Friends of Lakeland Schools, which was formed to support the district’s levy requests earlier this year.
Thompson and three other board members voted in favor of placing the levies on the ballot for the May election after the levies failed in March; vice chair of the board, Ramona Grissom, voted against placing it back on the ballot. Voters approved the levies.
With three children who have all been a part of the Lakeland Joint School District for the past eight years, Holfeltz said she appreciates the people along the way who have supported her children’s academic careers.
“I have been a part of their education from the time they were little, and I’ve really been impressed with this community and the teachers and the staff and how they have done such a great job of taking care of my kids and teaching them and supporting them,” Holfeltz said. “I decided it was time to give back to that community and see if I could serve our community the same way that people have served me.”
If elected into the position, Holfeltz hopes to create better communication within the district.
“(I will) listen to the parents and the people that I will represent in my zone, listen to the school, the staff and the teachers, and find ways that we can come together and figure out solutions that will best benefit the children in our district,” Holfeltz said.
