West Ada school board chooses new trustee. He led parent group that challenged mask policy
The West Ada school board on Monday night chose a new member to replace its former chair, who resigned from the role last month.
Trustees chose David Binetti — who started the “Smile West Ada” group and the West Ada Parents Association, and led much of the effort to make masks optional in the district — to serve on the board. Binetti will be sworn in at next month’s meeting to represent Zone 4. He was chosen in a 3-1 vote out of two finalists for the role.
During the meeting, the two candidates answered several questions, including what they expected to be their short- and long-term impacts to the board, what policies or programs could be put into place to help improve student outcomes and if they could support board decisions they weren’t in favor of.
The other finalist was Brad Ehrlich, a West Ada parent and founder, board member and CEO of Providence Venture.
Binetti said he wouldn’t expect to have an immediate impact on the board.
“The first thing to do when you join an organization is you need to listen, you need to learn,” he said.
In the long term, he said his top issues included managing growth, increasing and retaining talent and improving trust in the district. All of his decisions, he said, would revolve around what was best for the kids.
“At the end of the day … it’s all about the kids,” he said.
Binetti also said he could support board decisions he didn’t agree with, again talking about the importance of listening to others, including those with different perspectives.
“It’s because I believe strongly that good people can disagree on important issues, and the place to have that discussion is during discussion,” Binetti said. “Once the decision is made, then I feel that it’s extremely important that you abide by the code of ethics.”
Binetti will replace former board chair Rusty Coffelt, who resigned last month because of personal family matters that would take him out of Idaho. Coffelt was appointed to the board last year and was elected chair in January.
He was the second board member to resign this year. In February, Amy Johnson resigned from the role. In her resignation letter, she wrote she was “exhausted” and wanted to protect her family and employer from “further harassment.”
Lucas Baclayon, a former teacher and education administrator, was appointed to fill her spot.
When Binetti is sworn in, four of the board’s five members will have assumed the role this year.
