Boise voters elected Krista Hasler Tuesday in her fourth bid to join the school board.
Hasler, a social worker and mother of four, defeated Matthew Shapiro in the only contested race for five open seats on the board of trustees. Hasler secured 54.1% of the tally, besting Shapiro 1,755 votes to 1,490, according to unofficial results.
Hasler is a frequent attendee of school board meetings and volunteer in district classrooms. She previously told Idaho Education News that she plans to push for additional early education and mental health resources while also focusing on accelerated, technical and advanced placement opportunities for high school students.
Tuesday’s results mark Shapiro’s second consecutive loss in a Boise school board election. Shapiro is a renewable energy company executive who has served as a special education assistant and substitute teacher in Boise schools.
Both Shapiro and Hasler unsuccessfully ran for board seats in 2022, and Hasler previously applied for appointments to two open seats, most recently this spring.
Meanwhile, four incumbents retained their seats in uncontested races Tuesday. Board vice president Maria Greeley and trustees Elizabeth Langley, Paul Bennion and Debbie Donovan ran unopposed. The uncontested incumbents did not appear on the ballot.
Trustee Shiva Rajbhandari, who won election to the board two years ago while completing his senior year at Boise High School, did not seek reelection.
Why did Boise hold an election in September?
As a charter school district, established prior to Idaho statehood, Boise has unique election parameters, and the district is exempt from a state law that limits school elections to November. Local policy calls for school board elections in September every other year.
Boise trustees hold at-large seats, meaning they represent the entire district rather than a smaller jurisdiction within the district. The school board has seven members, who are unpaid volunteers.
Open-seat races are organized by terms. On Tuesday, three candidates vied for six-year terms, one for a four-year term and one for two years. Hasler won the contest for a two-year term. Langley, Greeley and Bennion were reelected to six-year terms while Donovan won a four-year term after being appointed to the board in April.
School board president Dave Wagers and longtime trustee Nancy Gregory have time remaining on their six-year terms; their seats will open up in 2028 and 2026, respectively.
Election winners are scheduled to be sworn in at the board’s Sept. 9 meeting.
