State Board selects new slate of officers

Emma Atchley
Emma Atchley

The State Board of Education has elected a new slate of officers for 2016-17.

Emma Atchley of Ashton will serve as board president, succeeding Don Soltman of Twin Lakes. The businesswoman and potato grower was reappointed in 2015 to her second five-year board term.

The other officers have direct ties to K-12.

Linda Clark of Meridian was named board vice president. Gov. Butch Otter appointed the former West Ada School District superintendent to the board in 2015.

Board secretary Debbie Critchfield is a spokeswoman with the Cassia County School District, and a former school board member.

The State Board is an eight-member panel composed of seven gubernatorial appointees and the state’s superintendent of public instruction. The board has far-reaching jurisdiction over K-12 and higher education policy, on matters as diverse as K-12 academic standards and college and university tuition and fees.

Kevin Richert

Kevin Richert

Senior reporter and blogger Kevin Richert specializes in education politics and education policy. He has more than 35 years of experience in Idaho journalism. He is a frequent guest on "Idaho Reports" on Idaho Public Television and "Idaho Matters" on Boise State Public Radio. He can be reached at [email protected]

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