Palouse voters will get the chance to weigh in on school board races

Voters in most communities on the Palouse will elect school board members when they mail in ballots or head to the polls in the coming weeks, though many candidates are unopposed and several races are without candidates.

Residents vying for the school board positions, typically four-year, unpaid terms, have the opportunity to establish policy for their local school systems.

Whitman County

Washington is a vote-by-mail state, and ballots for the school board and all local elected positions (see a sample at this shortened web link: bit.ly/3DhYbWb) will be mailed Oct. 15.

For Whitman County residents not yet registered to vote, the deadline to complete voter registration and address changes by mail or online in the county is Oct. 25. Residents who miss the deadline can visit the county office in Colfax to register to vote or change an address before 8 p.m. election day.

The Pullman School District has two open positions on its board. Running for District 4 are Carolina Silva and Nathan Roberts. Amanda Tanner is running unopposed in District 5.

Candidate statements for Silva and Roberts can be found on Whitman County’s voter guide at this shortened web link: bit.ly/3iGLah3.

In the Colfax School District, Mark R. Clinton is running against Denise Culbertson in District 2. Jennifer Hauser running unopposed in District 5.

Two school board positions are up at the Palouse School District, and both candidates, Heidi Evans and Jessica Twigg-Harris, are running unopposed.

At the Garfield School District, Sean Neal and Andrew Olsen are running against each other for District 1. Matt Bofenkamp is the only candidate for District 4.

Three positions will be up at the Colton School District, with all three candidates, Nick Weber, Jim Walsborn and Niki Wolf, running unopposed.

Latah County

Similar to Whitman County, many of the races for school board seats in Latah County are unopposed. The preregistration deadline to vote in the county’s elections is Oct. 8. Those who missed the deadline can register and vote at their designated polling place on Election Day.

You can see a sample ballot for contested races in Latah County here: bit.ly/3Bw6GfG.

Two positions are up for grabs at the Moscow School District and each will be contested. Incumbent Ken Faunce and challengers Kendra Pickard and Phillip Hutton are vying for the seat in Zone 2, while challenger Tim Halvorson and incumbent Brian P. Kennedy are running in Zone 5.

The Potlatch School District has three available positions. Jackie Meckel, Michael Montgomery and Bryan Myers are in the race for Zone 1. For Zone 3, Mike Gilmore and Jeff Stolz are up against each other. Sharon Fiscus and Tyrell Winther are vying for the Zone 5 seat.

At the Troy School District, two seats are open, but only one candidate, Lisa A. Hunter, has filed her candidacy.

Three seats are open at the Genesee School District, but only two residents, Kim Johnson and Harlan Zenner, have filed.

At the Kendrick School District, three candidates are running unopposed. They are Shelby Silflow, Chad Heimgartner and Donald Parks.

Palermo can be reached at apalermo@dnews.com or on Twitter @apalermotweets.