School trustee zone map appeal, BCL reverts to previous zone map

Story has been updated.

BONNERS FERRY — The Boundary County School District is appealing a new trustee zone map, saying the zones do not align with historic townships and geographic barriers.

Historically, the Boundary County Library trustee zones have followed the BCSD zone map in order to keep trustee zones consistent across the county.

At the Feb. 16 meeting, the library board amended the agenda in order to adopt the district’s precinct map. However, that map is under appeal, but the library has an election in May for Zones 3 and 5.

At a special meeting on March 8, the BCL trustees unanimously voted to revert to the 2011 zone map, a move they were advised to follow by their legal council. BCSD and Boundary County officials wrote a letter in support of the BCL reverting to the former zone map.

At a Feb. 28 county commissioner meeting, BCSD officials, County Assessor and BCL Trustee Lee Colson discussed the precinct map and the library’s actions going forward with the new map under appeal.

BCSD Superintendent Jan Bayer said that the district is proposing a new map to the state that aligns with the historic townships and geographic barriers. The appeal hearing is scheduled in late April.

BCL trustee election for zones 3 and 5 will be on May 16. Currently Aaron Bohachek is trustee for Zone 3, which is a six-year term. Zone 5 is a two-year term to finish the remainder of a six-year term. William Lee Colson currently holds this position fulfilling its vacancy, and has reapplied to finish the remainder of the term.

To apply to be a trustee, candidates must be United States citizens over 18 years of age and must reside within the boundaries of the zone they are seeking. A map showing these boundaries is available at the courthouse. Petitions are available there as well. Petitions must be filed with the courthouse by March 17.

If more than one petition for a zone is received, an election for the position will be May 16.