It will take three hours, but Boise School District trustees agreed Thursday that interviewing all six candidates to fill a vacancy on their own board is worth it.
Trustee Maria Greeley resigned in September and the district received six applications to fill her position. The board will interview the six candidates at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 8, at the district office. The interviews will be open to the public and livestreamed.
“We six feel the weight of an appointment process, and to try to do it as transparently as possible and listen to what these candidates have to say,” Trustee Nancy Gregory said.
To help make their decision on how many candidates to interview, the trustees ranked the candidates on slips of paper and district staff compiled their responses in a spreadsheet. Board Chair Dave Wagers said it seemed like there was a lower group and a higher group, but each candidate was in at least one trustee’s top three.
The six applicants put in a fair amount of time to apply for the position, Wagers said, and he is in favor of spending time to interview them all. He said each interview will take 25 minutes.
Trustee Krista Hasler noted that there is often a difference between reading someone’s resume and speaking to them in person. Responding to questions can bring up new information, she said.
“I don’t think you can ignore that there’s a totally different side,” Hasler said.
Here’s a closer look at the applicants (click on the links for their full application):
- Jeff Carlson works in Boise for Clever Inc., a San Francisco-based software firm. Carlson works as the firm’s head of national education partnerships. According to his resume, Carlson is a former staffer with the Tennessee Department of Education; served as an aide to former U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick, D-Idaho; and taught special education for two years in New York City, as part of the Teach for America program. He has a doctorate in education leadership from Harvard College.
- Kym Couch has worked 13 years in Boise State University’s Office of Information Technology. She holds a doctorate in public policy and administration from Boise State. “The Boise School District has had a lot of highly controversial political situations arise recently,” Couch said in her questionnaire. “The board, of course, has to respond to these situations, and I do believe the responses have been appropriate, but something that could be improved on is less focus on these and more focus on educational improvement of our students.”
- Iver Iverson, a student, recently worked for six months as a U.S. Senate page. “I feel as a student I am able to take the realistic wants of my fellow students and work and negotiate fairly with teachers and faculty to create an idea of what a beneficial curriculum, grading system and course requirements would look like.”
- Kirtlan Naylor, a retired attorney, served as an Ada County deputy prosecutor, handling juvenile criminal cases and child protection cases. He is also a former Maple Grove PTA president. His application for the nonpartisan post includes several bipartisan endorsements — from former Secretary of State Ben Ysursa and former Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, both Republicans; from former Boise trustee and gubernatorial candidate A J Balukoff, a Democrat; and College of Southern Idaho President Dean Fisher. Naylor holds degrees from Brigham Young University.
- Alejandro Necochea is medical director of community health and engagement for the St. Luke’s Health System. “As a physician trained in public health and a preventive medicine practitioner, I am interested in fostering systems where children and families thrive,” Necochea wrote in his application. “Caring for children is one of the most upstream things we can do to create healthy communities. Strong school systems are foundational to this effort.” He holds degrees from Yale University, Johns Hopkins University and Harvard.
- Jamie Smith is financial manager for the Idaho Commission for Libraries, and previously worked for the Idaho Department of Correction. “I believe the district has done an excellent job sharing a message of inclusion and compassion, prioritizing student safety, and navigating the turbulent political environment,” Smith said in her application. Smith is the mother of two daughters in Boise public schools. She has a master’s degree in public administration from Boise State.
