Voters on Tuesday elected Andy Hawes to serve a four-year term on the Boise school board.
Hawes received 2,430 votes, or 50.93%, to candidate Kirt Naylor’s 2,341 votes, or 49.07%.
Just 3.9% of registered voters participated in Tuesday’s election.
This will be Hawes’ second time serving as a trustee for Boise Independent School District.
Trustees in 2011 appointed Hawes to fill a vacancy and voters in 2022 elected him to a four-year term. He resigned one year into that term, however, to take a job in Seattle as senior corporate counsel for timber company Weyerhaeuser.
He moved back to Boise in March to work as director of land, water and asset recovery for J.R. Simplot Company. He told EdNews in July that he plans on staying in Boise.
“This is my dream job and I’m here for the long haul,” he said. “I’m invested in the community.”
In an candidate forum last week at Boise High, Hawes said the biggest issue facing the district is declining enrollment. He said the district needs to see facilities as assets. If the district considers closing a school, he would try to find creative ways to use the building to support the community.
“Are there other uses that we can use for facilities that would fit squarely with what the community wants in serving students?” Hawes said.
During his time on the school board, Hawes helped create the Board of Trustees Student Advisory Committee. High school students meet with the board and administrators to provide feedback and input on decisions. He has also served on the board of directors for Jesse Tree of Idaho, a nonprofit that prevents homelessness and eviction
This is the second time Naylor has come in second place for a seat on the board. He applied and interviewed for a vacancy in October. Trustees selected Alejandro Necochea to fill the vacancy, and Naylor was the runner up.
While most elections in Idaho take place in May and November, Boise Independent School District has its own charter that allows it to conduct elections on the first Tuesday in September every other year. All seats are at-large, meaning there are no zones within the district.
Hawes will be sworn into office during the district’s regular board meeting on Sept. 14.
