Koler: Event favored Powers

COEUR d'ALENE - A Coeur d'Alene school board candidate canceled plans to speak Thursday at a PTA meeting following allegations of improper use of school resources for campaign purposes.

In an email sent late Wednesday to school officials, Duncan Koler, of Hayden, complained that Zone 2 trustee incumbent candidate Stephanie Powers was scheduled to speak Thursday at 9 a.m. to the PTA at Hayden Meadows Elementary.

"Her opponent Tom Hamilton was not invited. This speaking engagement is advertised in the Hayden Meadows newsletter," Koler wrote.

Some parents received the newsletter by email from the school district.

"This use of school district facilities to aid the campaign of an incumbent trustee constitutes an improper use of public school resources. Ms. Powers cannot use school facilities to further her campaign," Koler wrote. "This is a conflict of interest. To make things worse, this political event will be going on during school hours. This campaign event must not be allowed to take place on school grounds."

Powers told The Press that she called off her plan to speak at the PTA meeting as soon as she learned of the allegations.

She had no knowledge of the newsletter or the use of school email to distribute it.

Powers said she contacted parent-teacher organizations at several district schools and asked to be put on their agendas.

"In the past, when I was PTA chair in one of the schools, the protocol was that anyone can be on the agenda to speak," Powers said. "Over the years, we had numerous candidates - school board, city council candidates - come speak. I just followed that same practice."

Powers said she understands that school resources are not to be used for campaign purposes, and she has had many conversations with her campaign workers about that.

She thought her campaign opponent, Tom Hamilton, would be speaking at the meeting also, after receiving an email from a parent asking her if she would be opposed to an appearance by Hamilton.

"My response was, 'No,'" Powers said. "I think that's good for the process."

Hamilton told The Press he was not invited to speak at the meeting. He has children who attend Hayden Meadows.

Carrie White, president of the PTA at the school, said that when Powers called her, she told her she could come and introduce herself at the meeting and tell people what position she was running for.

"If Tom Hamilton had called me, I would have invited him to do the same," White said.

Superintendent Hazel Bauman said the school district has a policy that anything funded by taxpayer dollars cannot be used for campaign purposes, unless it's informational. Notices of levy meetings, levy information and notices of candidate meetings are all considered informational.

"We need to do a little education with our PTAs. If they're going to have a candidate come to a PTA meeting, they need to extend the invitation to all candidates," Bauman said. "Unless they hold the meeting off school grounds, and advertise it independent of school and taxpayer dollars."

While PTAs are nonprofits that are not funded through taxes, Bauman said there is a reciprocal relationship in that the district allows the PTAs to use school facilities.

"If they want to endorse a candidate, they can, but the firewall has got to be that if they're using facilities or equipment paid for by taxpayers, the playing field has to be even," Bauman said.