KSD to interview candidates for open trustee seat

KELLOGG — The Kellogg School District has announced their three finalists for the open Zone 1 trustee position.

Chelsea Osterberg, Ethan Wendt and Carole Urquhart will be interviewed during a special meeting this Tuesday — the same day that voters decide yes or no on the district’s replacement supplemental levy.

During last November’s election season, former Zone 1 Trustee Todd Sheppard decided to not seek re-election and in the month since that Election Day, no one had shown interest in the position.

Sheppard’s seat was declared vacant during the Jan. 12 meeting of the Board of Trustees.

Under Idaho Code, the district had 90 days from the time the vacancy was declared to fill the seat from within the declared zone.

After the 90-day period, had there been no applicants from the declared zone, the board would then begin considering applications from other zones to fill the position.

After discussion, the board of trustees made the decision to extend the deadline another two weeks to ensure that they gave applicants as much time as possible — although they still had more than a month until that 90-day period was up.

Board trustees are responsible for making the decisions that guide the district through the course of the school year, as well as working in conjunction with the other trustees to navigate through any unexpected situations.

All three of the applicants who will be interviewed next week reside in Zone 1 and will be interviewed in a panel-style, question and answer interview by current board members Bonnie Farmin, Alexa Griffin, Carolyn Turner and Sam Gibbons.

According to KSD Board Clerk Megan Bumgardner, once the interviews are completed, if the board feels they have enough information, they may appoint a new trustee who would then be sworn in during the regularly scheduled March meeting at 7 that same night.

Previously, the district had received one other interested party, but the application was incomplete and came from outside Zone 1.

The Zone 1 trustee represents the areas of south Kellogg/Wardner and the eastern areas of Elizabeth Park, Big Creek, Elk Creek and Moon Gulch on the north side of I-90. The position runs through December 2023.

The Kellogg School District Special Board Meeting is Tuesday, March 8, at 5 p.m. in the district office conference room.