Full quota of board members will help district move forward
By JEAN JAcQUES BOHL
The Blaine County School District Board of Trustees finally filled the Zone 3 vacant seat Thursday, Nov. 3, which was open since Hailey resident Carol Freund’s resignation last June. In a surprising move, the Board unanimously agreed to appoint Ellen Mandeville, of Hailey. The meeting was filled with anticipation and drama. About 30 people were in the audience.
Several candidates vied for the position, including Johnny Galgano, Irene Healy, Mandeville, Pamela Plowman and Kaz Thea. The board, in a previous meeting on Sept. 20, was unable to reach a decision, being deadlocked on whether to nominate Healy or Thea. At that time, Mandeville and Plowman were not considered.
Each candidate answered six questions.
Healy, Mandeville and Thea were present, while Galgano answered via a phone link, since he was out of the country, in Dubai. Following the round of questions, school board member Elizabeth Corker made motion that board members express the positives and negatives about each candidate prior to a vote.
During Corker’s lengthy review of Healy, an angry patron stormed out of the room in frustration over the protracted speech. A Hailey police officer escorted him out.
Following the round of comments by the trustees, in which they all praised the candidates, the divided board was still unable to decide between Healy and Thea.
Board members Shawn Bennion and Rob Clayton voted for Healy, while Cami Bustos and Corker cast their ballots for Thea. Since the board was deadlocked, the next step would have been to turn the decision over to the county commissioners, a first in Idaho history.
In a dramatic move, Clayton made a motion to nominate Mandeville for the vacant seat. Corker seconded the motion. With a unanimous 4-0 vote, the board approved Mandeville as the new school board member, ending a four-months stalemate. The mother of a middle and high school student, Mandeville is a freelance writer and is studying online for her master’s of arts in theological studies from Liberty University, in Virginia.
“We only each have authority as a group when we reach consensus,” Mandeville said in an interview Monday. “I make decisions based on data, evidence, rational arguments and healthy debate.”
She added that she excels at research.
“It’s a vital aspect of the job,” she said. “I do due diligence, and am prepared to debate. I’ve done my best to educate myself on the current issues. And I work well with all sorts of different people. I’m bringing a fresh perspective.”
Mandeville was sworn in right after the vote on Thursday.