District sets interviews for Zone 5 trustee seat

PRIEST RIVER — One of three board candidates has declined to move forward with the process, according to West Bonner County School District officials.

Roger Berry, who had put his hat in the ring for the vacant Zone 5 seat, advised board officials this week that he was no longer interested in moving forward with the process given the current COVID-19 pandemic, WBCSD Clerk Jennifer Anselmo said in an email to the Daily Bee.

That leaves candidates Kathy Nash and Nicole Butler, who will be interviewed by the board on April 6.

The board declared the seat vacant at its Jan. 15 meeting and announced it is seeking qualified individual to serve on the board. The vacancy follows confusion over emerged in September, after the school district’s election was already underway when two candidates — Sudick and Lesa Souza — filed paperwork for the trustee zones they believed they lived in, based on the maps and legal descriptions the county had on record.

First District Judge Lansing Haynes ruled Jan. 6 that school district’s map and legal description were the ones to be used to determine whether an elected candidate was qualified to be seated.That launched a series of questions, which led to an effort to clarify which map was the right one for voters and candidates, Bonner County Clerk Michael Rosedale said after the matter came to light.

Rosedale said at the time that there was no ill intent by anyone at the county or the school district. “The court action was done to avoid the otherwise inevitable chaos that would have ensued,” he added. “I believe both parties were served by the court making a decision, and certainly the voters had a level of certainty with which to proceed.”

First District Judge Lansing Haynes ruled Jan. 6 that school district’s map and legal description were the ones to be used to determine whether an elected candidate was qualified to be seated.

While the meeting is closed to the public, it will be streamed on Facebook Live on the school district’s Facebook page.

Caroline Lobsinger can be reached by email at clobsinger@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @CarolDailyBee.