BOISE, Idaho — A new parent group called the West Ada Voters for Education is attempting to ease political discourse between board members and the local community.
Ed Klopfenstein, former chairman of the West Ada School District has co-founded WAVE. Klopfenstein abruptly resigned from the board in October 2020 following protests, heated meetings, and recall efforts.
“I think it has to go back to what the pandemic did to our community, and I think our community really, it took a hit," Klopfenstein said. "Ever since I got here 20 years ago, Idaho has been a really friendly, nice, kind community and it supported each other and I think things have changed a little bit.”
He added, being on the school board is a demanding task, on top of having a full-time job and trying to dedicate free time to family.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, a total of five West Ada Board members have resigned or did not renew their terms, something that did not surprise Klopfenstein. This is why he has co-founded WAVE. The group is made up of about 50 West Ada parents and hopes to grow.
"I think what WAVE is trying to do is really focus back in on the basics and realize that we want to be able to support nonpartisan, which is what school boards have always been about, pro-public education candidates and measures and really talk about issues that surround the school district in a very civil way,” he said. “We are not here to shout, we are here to be civil and talk about the concerns of West Ada and our kids.”
Klopfenstein said during a time of split opinions and disagreements, it's important for community members to have a civil insight and focus on being kind to one another.
“I think people have to realize that those people on the board, they're community people, it's local and you're getting local people, you’re not getting political experts, you’re getting small business people, you're getting moms and dads you're getting people who want to support their kids' education and they want to take a more active role,” Klopfenstein said.
To learn more, WAVE's facebook page can be found here.
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