Bill would create trustee districts

COEUR d'ALENE - Lawmakers will be taking another look at proposed legislation that would create sub-districts for Idaho community college trustees.

Rep. Frank Henderson, of Post Falls, plans to bring forward a bill similar to one he introduced during last year's legislative session. The bill requires community colleges to establish geographic districts in which trustees must have their primary place of residence.

It didn't get out of the House Education Committee last year, and Henderson said that at the time, he didn't have time to follow it through.

But he does now.

"It's an issue of representation. It goes right back to taxation without representation," Henderson told The Press. "It's fundamental to our form of representative government."

Community college trustees are now elected at large from anywhere within the entire taxing district their college serves. For North Idaho College trustees, the district is Kootenai County.

If Henderson's plan is adopted into law, the Coeur d'Alene municipal area would have two trustee districts, the Hayden-Hayden Lake-Athol area, and the Post Falls-Rathdrum area could each become one district, and the Fernan-Rose Lake-Harrison area another.

During a trustee election, voters would be able to cast votes for the candidates of their choice from anywhere in the county, not just those residing in their local districts. The system is similar to the way Kootenai County commissioners are elected.

Henderson became aware of what he sees as a need for trustee sub-districts last year during a town hall-style meeting in Post Falls when some of his constituents questioned why there was no one from their area on the NIC board.

The college's existing trustees all reside in or near Coeur d'Alene and Hayden.

"I'm not saying they're bad trustees, but they all come from a small area in the central part of the county," Henderson said. "People in Post Falls, Rathdrum, Spirit Lake, Worley, they feel as though they don't have active representation on that board."

The lack of sub-districts is an issue in other areas of the state as well.

"This year, in the election at the College of Southern Idaho, which serves two counties, the representative from Jerome County was defeated, so that county has no representation," Henderson said.

Equal representation from all parts of a community college district is important, Henderson said, because the governing board determines the budget and tax rate that all Kootenai County property owners must pay.

"It's equally important for the various social and economic factors that exist throughout the county," Henderson said.

Those factors influence curriculum and program needs that differ by area, he said.

The community college boards of trustees would be charged with determining the boundaries of their trustee sub-districts based on population, and have them established by January 2012 with the first trustee election by district the following November.

Mic Armon, chair of the NIC board, said he can't see a "huge advantage to having districts."

"I don't know if I feel positive or negative about it either way," Armon said. "My philosophy is, you want the best people to run for office, regardless of where they live. The voter makes the decision."

When making decisions as trustees, Armon said the needs of the students, the school and the community come before any geographic preferences.

"In my nine years on the board, I never made a decision because it would benefit a certain area over another," Armon said.

Ken Howard, the newest trustee on the NIC board, said that while he understands Henderson's argument, he needs more information for a better understanding of what the problem is with the way things are done now.

Howard took over his board seat after winning the general election in November.

"Right now there is nothing to stop anyone from running for a seat," Howard said.

"Essentially, all we would be doing is restricting people from running for those seats."