Rasmussen claims big win

Several board seats were up for election Tuesday in the Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Lakeland Joint, Kootenai and Plummer-Worley school districts.

COEUR d'ALENE

Rick Rasmussen defeated Michael Burns in the race for the Coeur d'Alene School Board Trustee Zone 1 seat, with Rasmussen winning by large margin of 2,394 votes (61.2%) over Burns' 1,518 votes (38.8%), according to Kootenai County Elections results with 100% of precincts reporting.

Rasmussen was appointed as an interim board member in July to fill the vacancy left by former trustee Allie Anderton, who resigned from the board in April following a DUI arrest.

Rasmussen, a 1984 Coeur d'Alene High School graduate who spent the entirety of his K-12 years in the Coeur d'Alene School District, said Tuesday night he was feeling "very honored, very humbled that folks in my zone and people in our community trust me to try to do the best for the kids in our community and for the teachers at our great schools."

"Feeling very honored, for sure," he said.

Rasmussen's family has a long legacy in the Coeur d'Alene School District. His mom, dad and wife all taught more than 30 years each and his brother is currently a teacher at Coeur d'Alene High.

"I have a granddaughter that will be going to Dalton, Canfield and Coeur d'Alene High School, that's why I wanted to come back and help the kids," he said.

As the CEO of Northwest Specialty Hospital, a local employer, he is also looking out for the future workforce. He said he also intends to use his background in accounting in his work on the school board.

"I just want to show the community that there's trust and transparency in what we're doing and we’re working together to do what’s best for the kids," Rasmussen said. "That's my heart. They are our future."

Vice Chair Lesli Bjerke, who was first elected to the board in 2021, will continue her tenure after defeating write-in candidate Tom Sanner by a landslide with 2,184 votes to Sanner's 317 votes.

"I am honored to have been re-elected as school board trustee," Bjerke said. "Thank you to all who voted for your trust and support. I look forward to continuing to the important work of supporting our students, educators and schools."

POST FALLS

Incumbent Post Falls School Board Trustee Neil Uhrig will retain his seat after defeating opponent Brad Harmon to represent Zone 1.

Uhrig received 647 votes (58.71%) to Harmon's 455 votes (41.29%).

“Beyond being tired, I'm just really thankful and really grateful to our community for voting for me," he said. "I'm excited to continue the work we're doing. There's a lot of headway we've made in the past four years. I’d like to continue, and I appreciate the community supporting me in that."

Kelli Johnson defeated opponent Thomas Barrett Jr. for the Trustee Zone 5 seat. Johnson received 1,378 votes. Barrett Jr. received 432 votes.

LAKELAND

Incumbent Trustee David Quimby will retain the Trustee Zone 4 seat on the Lakeland Joint School Board. Quimby received 793 votes (61.28%) while his opponent, Chris Beaty, received 501 votes (38.72%).

Neither candidate could be reached for comment by press time.

Jeff Brodhead defeated Allison Burnett for the Trustee Zone 5 seat. He secured 51.35% of the vote with 722 votes while Burnett received 48.65% with 684 votes.

KOOTENAI

Another landslide shaped up in the Kootenai Joint School District as incumbent Trustee Richard Meyer received 21 votes, defeating opponent Ramona Bratiloveanu, who received three votes, in the race for the Trustee Zone 1 seat.

Meyer, who works on the faculty at Texas Tech University in research and development, said certain skills are picked up in these roles, including choosing good people and supporting them. He praised the district's board and superintendent for doing outstanding work.

"I enjoy mentoring and basically supporting the administration and the staff," he said. "You'd rather not have someone who's in there for a political reason or a grudge, the first thing somebody like that does is go after the superintendent."

This leads to lower morale, he said.

"In this case, we have an outstanding superintendent and teachers, and I'd love to keep giving them support," he said. "They’re doing a great job, and the great job is reflected in student scores.

"Three out of the past six years we’ve come in in the top 10 in public schools in the state," he said.

Jamie Jenicek with 40 votes (57.97%) ousted Trustee Tom Hearn, who received 29 votes (42.03%) vying for the for the Zone 4 seat.

Graydon Mhyre won the Trustee Zone 5 seat with 60 votes while Tom Reinhardt received 29 votes.

PLUMMER-WORLEY

Michelle Grossglauser defeated Stefani Hoffman for Trustee Zone 1 seat. Grossglauser received 87 votes. Hoffman received 51 votes.

    Rasmussen

    Bjerke
  

  

    Uhrig