Who is running to serve on the Boise school board? Hear from the candidates
Boise voters next month will decide their next Boise School District trustees, positions that set school policies and approve the budget for the district.
Thirteen candidates are running in the Sept. 6 election to serve on the school board.
Five of the seven seats on the board are up for election. All incumbents — Beth Oppenheimer, Dave Wagers, Andy Hawes, Elizabeth Langley and Steve Schmidt — are running to hold their seats.
Three of the seats are up for election because of resignations that have happened since the district’s last election, in September 2020. Trustees on the Boise school board typically serve for six years, but members appointed after resignations must run for their seats in the next election, and, if elected, serve out the remainder of that term.
The five open seats include two six-year terms, one four-year term and two two-year terms.
The election comes as school districts across the state deal with impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, struggle to retain and attract teachers and face controversy over curricula and library books.
This year, a senior at Boise High School is running to serve on the board. The district has no record of a student ever being elected to serve on the board, a spokesperson told the Statesman in June.
Who can vote in the Boise school board election?
The Boise School District holds its elections every other year on the first Tuesday in September. Candidates for the board need to be 18, a registered voter in the school district and have “no pecuniary interest” in a contract with the district.
Boise residents can vote early at the District Services center starting Aug. 22 or can vote at a polling location on Election Day. Voters must request absentee ballots by Aug. 26.
To vote in the election, people need to be 18 years old, have lived in the district for 30 days and be registered to vote in Ada County. All trustees are elected at large, not by zones, so residents can vote for candidates for each of the five seats.
The Statesman sent surveys to each of the candidates on a variety of issues. Their responses are copied below, unedited.
Use the horizontal scroll bar underneath each Q&A as needed to read the full Q&A. You also can click on the chart and drag horizontally.
This story was originally published August 22, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
