WBCSD says 2011 version is official map

PRIEST RIVER — In the midst of a trustee zoning map dispute with Bonner County, West Bonner County School District officials maintain a 2011 version is the official map on file with the district and the state.

During last week’s WBCSD board meeting, a day after Bonner County officials announced their intention to seek a declaratory judgment in the matter, WBCSD board chair Sandy Brower read a statement explaining the district’s position.

“The map that was used by the county clerk’s office is dated 2015 and is different from the approved 2011 district map, and also from the approved 2001 district map,” Brower said. “The district has not been able to determine when or why the county made changes to either of those approved maps.”

After the decennial census is completed, Brower said, the district is required to review the trustee zones and determine whether the population in each zone is “generally equal.” If not, the zones are adjusted and the changes submitted to the State Board of Education for review and approval. The district followed this process and the current map the district has on file was approved in July 2011. Brower said county officials verified they had received the 2011 map, but were “unable to determine” whether they had received the associated legal description for each zone.

Brower said the district provided the legal description to the county on Sept. 11 and asked for it to be loaded into the county GIS so that both entities would be using the map approved by the State Board of Education. Brower said the district was subsequently told that the county will not complete that process until after the November election.

“The district has advised both candidates of zone 5 and the candidate for zone 1 of the issue with the map, and that the district believes that in order to comply with state law, the district must use the approved map to determine whether or not elected trustees reside in the zone for which they are elected,” Brower said. “That determination will be made after the election.”

It is not required that a candidate live in the zone at the time of declaration. If they are elected, however, they must reside within the zone before taking office. If someone is elected to a zone in which they do not reside, they will not be sworn in and the board will need to declare the zone vacant and appoint a trustee, Brower said. It is possible they can still serve as an at-large trustee if no one who resides in the zone is willing to serve as a trustee, she added.

“The district’s sole goal is to make sure that there is compliance with applicable state statutes concerning who can serve as a trustee,” Brower said. “Only someone who resides in the zone can serve that zone. When a trustee moves out of a zone for which they were elected, they are required to resign and the appointment process is undertaken. The same concept holds true for someone who is elected and then chooses not to move into a zone related to that candidacy.”

Brower’s statement followed the announcement by Bonner County Clerk Michael Rosedale and Prosecutor Louis Marshall last Tuesday that the county is asking a judge to resolve the dispute.

“Mr. Rosedale and Mr. Marshall have concluded that switching the map after the election had already begun would create uncertainty and undermine the public trust in the election process,” the county said in a news release.

Rosedale and Marshall formed their opinion after consulting with the Idaho Secretary of State, which advised that the map in effect at the time the election began was the proper map to control the election.

Rosedale added that state law requires county clerks to manage elections to achieve and maintain a maximum degree of correctness, impartiality, efficiency and uniformity. Switching maps, he said, would breach those duties.

“Mr. Rosedale also expressed concern over the fact that if the map was switched mid-stream as the school district demands, then at least one zone would have no candidate — even though a candidate declared and was declared certified by the school district’s clerk as being eligible to run — and the sitting school district trustees would themselves fill the seat, bypassing entirely the public election process,” the county’s news release said.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.