Appalling! That accurately describes the actions of Elizabeth Corker and Cami Bustos at the Blaine County School Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at interviews of candidates for the Zone 3 position.
It is appalling that they chose to ignore the fact that Irene Healy was the best-qualified candidate after listening to her answer questions that demonstrated that she is knowledgeable, prepared and able to be an outstanding Trustee.
It is appalling that they chose to ignore the fact that over 500 constituents signed a letter of support for Irene Healy. Hundreds of the signatures were from Bustos’ and Corker’s constituents.
It is appalling that they chose to ignore all those that came forward at the Sept. 13 Board meeting to speak in favor of Irene Healy.
It is appalling that they chose to ignore the many emails and phone calls that were made in favor of Irene Healy.
It is appalling that they let their personal agendas get in the way of making the decision to vote for highly qualified Irene Healy so that the district will now remain without a representative for Zone 3 until, perhaps, December. Because of their obstructionist attitude and divisive actions, the Board will continue to be dysfunctional and Elizabeth Corker will continue to need more time to make decisions on every important and controversial item because she is not prepared to do her job properly. The work of the Blaine County School Board has an effect on every student in our school system.
Watch the interviews and voting on https://blaineschools.eduvision.tv/defaultaspx. It is a long recording but listening to the interviews will simply reinforce the fact that Irene Healy is the best candidate, by far. Listening to the last half hour will demonstrate the obstructionist attitude of both Bustos and Corker. After watching the webcast, if you agree that Irene Healy should have been appointed, please go to www.change.org and sign Irene’s letter of support.
Chair Shawn Bennion and Trustee Rob Clayton came to the meeting prepared with a full understanding of their responsibilities and I applaud them for that. There is an old cliché, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink,” that is very applicable in this situation.
The evening ended with a comment from Trustee Clayton that they had “failed a pretty big test in the eyes of the public.” Trustee Clayton and Trustee Bennion were professional and in no way failed. This appointment is about more than Irene Healy. This decision will have an effect on all of Blaine County. When election of trustees comes around, I do hope that their constituents will remember that Bustos and Corker failed the test. Unfortunately, this important assignment will, most likely, be put in the hands of the County Commissioners, which is unprecedented in the state of Idaho.
As a Trustee of Blaine County School District for nine years and chairman for five of those years, I am appalled that a candidate of Irene Healy’s caliber was not immediately put to work for the good of the district, all the students and every taxpayer in Blaine County.
Respectfully,
Lynn Flickinger
Ketchum resident