Incumbents fare well in Boise-area school board elections. So do tax levies
Election Day was a good day for school-board incumbents across the Treasure Valley. It was a good day for school districts seeking supplemental property-tax levies, too.
Incumbents retained all but two of nine seats they held in the West Ada, Kuna and Caldwell school districts.
As Boise-area school districts face overcrowding in schools and failed bond issues, incumbent trustees in the Kuna, West Ada, Nampa, Caldwell and Vallivue school districts faced challengers for reelection. Some of the races became contentious.
The winners in each district will have four-year terms.
Kuna School Board
In Kuna, three incumbent trustees seeking re-election each faced an opponent.
A combined $43,063 has been raised by all of the candidates, according to the state’s campaign-finance filing portal. Nearly two-thirds of that was raised by two challengers.
Zone 1: Hillary Lowe, who operates the Lowe Family Farmstead with her husband, challenged incumbent Joy Thomas in Zone 1. Thomas has served two terms on the Kuna School Board and is chief of staff of the Democratic minority in the Idaho House of Representatives.
Zone 1 covers an area southeast of the city between Ten Mile and Five Mile roads.
Lowe won with 635 votes, 63.5% of the total, vs. Thomas’s 365 votes, or 36.5%. Lowe raised more than $14,000 for her campaign, including more than $8,000 of her own money. Thomas spent more than $6,000.
“I’m pleased with how it turned out,” Lowe said by phone. “I didn’t know what to expect, having never run for any type of public office before. I have a lot to learn, and I plan to go into the school board with that attitude.”
Zone 2: Kristi Hardy, the owner of Cinderella Dress Rentals, a boutique on West Main Street, challenged incumbent James Grant, a dentist who runs a local practice called Avalon Dentistry, in Zone 2, which includes neighborhoods in northern Kuna. Grant has served two terms on the Kuna School Board and coaches football, basketball and track and field for the Kuna School District.
Grant won with 824 votes, 67.7% of the total, vs. Hardy’s 394 votes, or 32.4%.
He did it without pursuing any campaign contributions but spent $1,500 of his own money on re-election. Hardy raised nearly $16,000, the most of any Kuna School Board candidate, including more than $3,000 of her own money. With her 394 votes, that came to about $40 per vote.
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“It feels good to win,” Grant said by phone. “But I am sad at how this campaign went and pray for healing in our community. ... I care about the people in this community and don’t want to lose any friendships over all the campaign issues. I just want to help move our district forward.”
In October, doorbell camera footage surfaced showing Hardy taking Grant’s campaign flyer from a door jamb and replacing it with her own. She later apologized but said it wasn’t the first time she’d done so.
Doorbell camera catches Kuna school board candidate replacing foe’s flyer with her own
Zone 5: Michael Thornton, a farmer at Swan Falls Sod Farm, challenged incumbent Russell Johnson, an attorney at Johnson and Lundgreen, in Zone 5. Johnson has served one term on the Kuna School Board. Zone 5 covers a large swath of land southwest of the city and includes areas of both Ada and Canyon counties.
Thornton won with 307 votes, 60.7% of the total, vs. Johnson’s 199 votes, or 39.3%.
Who’s running for Kuna School Board? Take a look at the candidates in our Voter Guide
West Ada School Board
Three school board trustee seats were up for grabs in Idaho’s largest school district, with eight candidates running.
Zone 2: Incumbent Lucas K. Baclayon faced challenger Susie Schuetz. Zone 2 is south of Interstate 84 between Cole and Meridian roads.
Baclayon won with 3,253 votes, 50.8% of the total, vs. Schuetz’s 3,145 votes, or 49.2%.
Zone 4: Incumbent David Binetti faced challengers Mari Gates and Miguel De Luna. Zone 4 includes Eagle and Star and a portion of unincorporated Ada County north of Beacon Light Road. It encompasses areas of both Ada and Canyon counties.
Binetti won with 6,127 votes, 46.2% of the total, vs. De Luna’s 4,193 votes, or 31.6%, and Gates’s 2,941 votes, or 22.2%.
Zone 5: Incumbent Rene Ozuna faced challengers Tom Moore and Jeremy Cutler. Zone 5 is south of Chinden Boulevard north of I-84. It is bordered on the west by Ten Mile Road and the east by Eagle Road.
Ozuna won with 4,153 votes, 57.1% of the total, vs. Moore’s 2,491 votes, or 34.3%, and Cutler’s 624 votes, or 8.6%.
Who’s running for West Ada school board? Our voter guide highlights the candidates
Nampa School Board
Four candidates ran for two open seats on the board as questions swirled about school funding, student well-being, test scores and safety.
Neither Mandy Simpson nor Marco Valle, the incumbents representing Zone 1 and Zone 2, ran to keep their seats. Their terms end in December.
Zone 1: Stephanie Binns and Jay Duffy ran in Zone 1, which covers northern Nampa and downtown.
Binns won with 537 votes, 60.1% of the total, vs. Duffy’s 356 votes, or 39.8%.
Zone 2: Adam Schasel and David Jennings ran in Zone 2, which covers western Nampa.
Jennings won with 850 votes, 51.2% of the total, vs. Schasel’s 811 votes, or 48.8%.
Who’s running for Nampa School Board in 2023? Our Voter Guide highlights the candidates
Supplemental levy: The Nampa School District also ran a supplemental levy for $14.8 million per year for two years. The levy would cover maintenance and operations expenses for the district that the regular property tax levy is insufficient to cover. Levies require a simple majority vote to pass.
The levy passed with 4,371 votes, 55.7% of the total, vs. 3,472 votes, or 44.3%, against it.
Caldwell School Board
Incumbents in Zones 2, 3 and 4 each faced challengers after a sometimes testy year.
In January, the board drafted a potential policy over gender identity and sexual orientation in schools. The board was forced to end an ensuing meeting early when it devolved into shouted threats and insults towards the board, according to prior Idaho Statesman reporting.
Zone 2: Ray Horrell challenged incumbent Manuel Godina in Zone 2, which includes southwestern Caldwell, surrounding the intersection of Ustick and Farmway roads.
Godina won with 452 votes, 54.7% of the total, vs. Horrell’s 374 votes, or 45.3%.
Zone 3: Nicole Trakel challenged incumbent Travis Manning in Zone 3, which includes western Caldwell and a portion of downtown.
Manning won with 352 votes, 63.4% of the total, vs. Trakel’s 203 votes, or 36.6%.
Zone 4: Nicole Hyland challenged incumbent Andrew Butler in Zone 4, which covers most of northern Caldwell.
Butler won with 270 votes, 57% of the total, vs. Hyland’s 204 votes, or 43%.
Who’s running for Caldwell, Vallivue school boards? Our Voter Guide highlights candidates
Vallivue School District
Two candidates ran for one of the open seats on the board. The school district surrounds the western, southern and eastern edges of Caldwell and borders Nampa.
Incumbents Toni Brinegar and Amy Johnson, who represent Zone 3 and Zone 5, ran unopposed to keep their seats.
Zone 4: Incumbent Paul Tierney faced challenger Brian Bishop in Zone 4, which includes the northeastern corner of the district, east of Caldwell and north of Nampa.
Tierney won with 486 votes, 56.3% of the total, vs. Bishop’s 378 votes, or 43.8%.
Middleton School District
Supplemental levy: The Middleton School District ran a supplemental levy on the ballot.
The levy is for $1.5 million per year for two years. It would cover maintenance and operations expenses for the district that the regular property tax levy is insufficient to cover. Levies require a simple majority vote to pass.
The levy passed with 2,296 votes, 58.7% of the total, vs. 1,617 votes, or 41.3%, against it.
Update: Treasure Valley election results, latest vote totals for Ada, Canyon County races
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