The election for the new school board members occurred on May 16.

This election happened to fill positions on the LPOSD school board for three zones. The members of the board are split into zones of residency. There are five zones in the LPOSD district and the election included candidates from zones two, three and five.

“Having school zones distributes the board members throughout the district so that the areas are equally represented,” said newly elected trustee Cary Kelly.

There are elections for new school board trustees every two years.

The LPOSD school board is made up of elected trustees who are responsible for making sure that the best education is provided with the tax dollars available.

For Zone two, which runs south of Sagle, Gary Suppiger won against Richard Miller, to replace former member Matt Mire.

Suppiger has volunteered in the LPOSD school district for 12 years. He hopes to help expand vocational programs and increase communication with the public on spending and planning for levies.

Lonnie Williams won against Victoria Zeischegg in Zone 3, replacing former member Joan Fish. This zone includes west of Highway 95 and north of Sandpoint.

Williams is involved in other school programs such as Bulldog Bench and the Panhandle Alliance for Education. He fully supports the supplemental levy and wants to ensure that the spendings by the district are made wisely to benefit the provided education.

In Zone five, which encompasses downtown Sandpoint and west Dover, Cary Kelly won against Anita Perry to replace previous Board Chairman, Steve Youngdahl.

“I would like to see our school district the top one in the state — it’s close now, there is always room for improvement,” Kelly said.

Kelly was previously a teacher for a public school before retiring. He strongly supported the past district levies. While on the board he hopes to increase public interaction in matters of finances and policies and enact a plan to fix run down school facilities.