Incumbents Maria Greeley and Troy Rohn and Boise State University administrator Alicia Estey cruised to victory in Tuesday’s Boise School Board election.
With all 43 precincts reporting, Estey led with 3,519 votes, followed by Greeley with 3,252 votes and Rohn with 3,124 votes.
Branden Durst, Shari Fernandez and Jim Tooman lagged well behind all night. Fernandez finished with 810 votes. Durst, a former legislator, had 567 votes, and Tooman trailed with 300 votes.
Voters could cast ballots for up to three candidates. All told, 4,041 voters went to the polls in the unique, day-after-Labor Day election; this represents less than 4 percent of registered voters.
Greeley and Rohn were each elected to a second six-year terms. Estey will succeed 21-year trustee A J Balukoff, who did not seek re-election.
Estey raised by far the most money. According to financial disclosure reports filed with the Ada County clerk’s office, she received $2,375. She was endorsed by Balukoff, state Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking and state Rep. Melissa Wintrow, both D-Boise; current trustee Beth Oppenheimer; and Boise City Council member Holli Woodings.
Durst reported $324.95 in contributions and Greeley and Troy Rohn reported no fundraising activity, although Rohn reported spending $373.
Estey has worked for Boise State University since 2006 and serves as senior associate vice president of campus operations and the university’s chief compliance officer. She manages a $45 million operating budget and oversees more than $75 million in capital projects. She holds a bachelor degree in accountancy from BSU, a Master of Public Health from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and a law degree from the University of Idaho.
Estey’s daughter is entering her senior year at Boise High School.
Greeley has served as vice chair on the board for the past four years, co-chair of the Governance Committee and has served as a team member on the Facilities Committee, Strategic Planning Committee and Superintendent Evaluation Committee.
Greeley has three sons who graduated from Borah High School and a daughter who is a junior at Borah this year.
Rohn is the chair of the board’s Legislative and Governmental Affairs Committee. He is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at BSU. During his 18 years at BSU, Rohn has established an internationally recognized research program studying the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases including to a large extent, Alzheimer’s disease.
The seven-member school board leads the second largest district in Idaho, with an enrollment of 26,000 students.
