Who is running for College of Western Idaho’s school board? Hear from the candidates

Nine candidates are running in the Nov. 8 general election to serve on the College of Western Idaho’s board of trustees.

The board is made up of five trustees, and four of those seats are up for election this year. The Zone 1 and 3 positions are two-year terms and the Zone 2 and 4 positions are four-year terms.

Candidates must live in the zone in which they are running, but all trustees are elected at large by voters in Ada and Canyon counties. The role is a volunteer position.

Three incumbent candidates are running for reelection. The board does not currently have an incumbent serving in the Zone 1 position after former trustee Samantha Guerrero resigned earlier this year.

The candidates running for election include Nicole A. Bradshaw and Alisha Hickman for Zone 1; incumbent Molly Lenty, Gordon Simpson and Ryan Spoon for Zone 2; incumbent Jim Reames and Jan Allan Zarr for Zone 3; and incumbent Annie Pelletier Hightower and Thad Butterworth for Zone 4.

Four of the candidates — Hickman, Spoon, Zarr and Butterworth — are running as Republicans on similar platforms that include cutting public school spending and reducing property taxes.

The board of trustees is responsible for approving curricular offerings, the annual budget and investment plans.

The Idaho Statesman sent surveys to each of the candidates on a variety of issues. Their responses are copied below, unedited.

Hickman, Zarr and Butterworth did not respond.

The Statesman conducts background checks on all candidates, including those who did not respond. Butterworth had one bankruptcy filed in 2001. He told the Statesman this was his first attempt to run a business, and he “was not quite prepared for some of the challenges in that industry.”

Learn more about other local elections at IdahoStatesman.com/voter-guide.

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.