School trustee's residency unclear

COEUR d'ALENE — The residency of a Coeur d’Alene School District trustee has come into question and will be discussed at a special school board meeting tonight at 5:15.

Idaho Code and school district policy state trustees must live in the zones for which they are elected. Recent notations on iCourt, the state’s online court records repository, indicate Trustee Allie Anderton may not be living in Zone 1, the school district zone in which she was elected to serve.

Anderton has denied moving out of her zone.

“I am still a qualified elector in my zone, and I look forward to years of continued service as trustee,” Anderton wrote Oct. 3 in an email response to a Press inquiry about her residency.

The court records repository index shows Anderton was served divorce papers Aug. 25 and that the documents were left with a co-resident, "WW.” Anderton’s father is Wayne White, who it appears does not reside in Coeur d’Alene.

In a follow-up email sent by The Press Oct. 3, Anderton was asked if she was still a resident of Zone 1, the trustee zone in which she was elected, and if she is residing full time at the Wolf Lodge area address listed with the Kootenai County Elections Office. Anderton did not respond until Monday, Oct. 16.

"I am still a resident of my zone," she wrote via email. "I would appreciate the respect of my privacy through this transition and while I navigate my divorce."

Anderton told The Press to direct any further communications to her attorney.

A community member also inquired about the matter, asking the school district in an Oct. 12 email to confirm Anderton’s residency status.

“I do not believe Ms. Anderton’s current residence is within Zone 1, and thus she is not qualified to act as a Trustee, and as a result I and thousands of other constituents are not being represented,” wrote Nancy Heffter, in the email acquired by The Press through a public record request.

Heffter detailed her reasons for making the inquiry, noting service of the divorce papers to a location other than the home Anderton shared with her husband in Zone 1.

“Under Idaho Rule of Civil Procedure 5(b) service can only be made without personal delivery to ‘the person’s dwelling or usual place of abode with someone over the age of 18 years who resides there,’” Heffter wrote. “WW is Wayne White, Ms. Anderton’s father, and by accepting service on Ms. Anderton’s behalf Mr. White acknowledged that his home (an address in Post Falls) is her place of residence and he is her co-resident.”

In a written statement to The Press, Board Chair Rebecca Smith acknowledged receipt of the Oct. 12 inquiry.

“It is not the board’s preference to discuss personal matters in a public forum, but Trustee Anderton’s current residency is unclear, which is why the special meeting was called,” Smith wrote. “We look forward to a productive conversation and to settling this matter as quickly as possible so we can return to the district’s important, student-focused work.”

The meeting will be at 5:15 p.m. at the Midtown Meeting Center, 1505 N. Fifth St., Coeur d’Alene.