Molander resigns from trustee post
SANDPOINT -- With the recent resignation of Lake Pend Oreille School District trustee Joel Molander, a pot of contention that has been simmering since his re-election last year has come back to a boil. A group of outspoken Clark Fork residents waited impatiently throughout the balance of the school board meeting Tuesday evening to have their say.
Molander had served on the school board as the representative for zone 1 -- north of Sandpoint, east of Highway 95, including Hope and Clark Fork -- for the previous five years, having won re-election in 2015. His opponent in that election was Clark Fork resident Kathy Rose.
According to LPOSD officials, Molander decided to run for re-election somewhat late in the game due to concerns that he might be taking a job out of the area in the future. However, as events unfolded, he made the decision to continue to serve on the board, ran and won.
“What I know is it was probably Mr. Molander’s late entry into his (2015) reelection that caused a lot of speculation.He said he was considering a job that was out of state, so he didn’t know if he would be around. He got a job locally, so reconsidered. Through whatever happened (thereafter), he ended up taking a position in Washington, and he has to live over there during the week. It was with great regret that he felt he had to resign," board chairman Steve Youngdahl told board members and meeting attendees. "I received his resignation on Friday."
Youngdahl described the process for filling Molander's vacant seat as specified in the Idaho School Board Association bylaws. It calls for the existing board to advertise the open position, accept applications, interview and then appoint the most qualified candidate to fill the seat until the end of the term, which would be 2019 in this case.
"I am hopeful we can conclude this process by the end of this month,” Youngdahl said.
However, a few audience members had another idea. They suggested bypassing official policy in favor of appointing their candidate of choice.
"The lady that ran against Joel is sitting right here," said David Banning of Clark Fork, indicating Kathy Rose. "She is the only one that ran against Joel, so she should be appointed."
“You’ve got to understand because we saw this coming," said his wife, Sharon Banning. "I want to express my disappointment that our local politics isn’t any better than our national politics. We should be honest with each other and not play dirty tricks. Kathy Rose is the only one who got some people’s votes and she was chosen by the community.”
The Bannings were not alone in their suspicions of wrongdoing. Dan Rose spoke up next.
“I was censored and so was my wife, Kathy Rose, for this issue that we are discussing today. It was quite clear that Mr. Molander did not want to run (last year). Who was the campaign organizer for Mr. Molander and who did all the work? I know there’s a specific board member that is looking me in the eye and who knows what happened,” said Rose, although he stopped short of actually naming names.
“I would like to answer back that you’re very interested in the voters speaking. (However), I never heard anything that Joel Molander planned this. Now you’re asking us to break state code -- to do something illegal -- and it just doesn’t line up. The votes came in like they came in, regardless of what you feel,” said trustee Geraldine Lewis.
“What we need to do is set a timeline and have a discussion. I propose we open it up for a week, interview whoever has applied, and then select someone," said Youngdahl.
“And this is all done in public, and anyone is welcome to attend,” said trustee and board vice chair Joan Fish.
Applications for the zone 1 school board vacancy are available online at lposd.org or at the district office, 901 N. Triangle Dr., Ponderay. Applicants can drop off their paperwork at the district office or email the application to the clerk of the board: kelly.fisher@lposd.org. The deadline is Friday, June 24 at 4 p.m.
Information: 208-263-2184.