LPOSD board elects Rachelle Hutchens as Zone 2 trustee
April 25, 2026
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader staff
The Lake Pend Oreille School District board met for its regular meeting on April 14, voting unanimously to elect Rachelle Hutchens to the Zone 2 trustee position vacated by Jalon Peters in early March. Hutchens interviewed for the seat during the meeting alongside the only other candidate, Panhandle Health District Board of Health Chair Thomas Fletcher.
Peters resigned his position after moving out of Zone 2, which encompasses the area south of the Pend Oreille River, west of Highway 95 and south of Sagle. All trustees are required to live within the zone they represent.
Huchens is the vice president of Sigma Design, a product development, engineering and manufacturing company based in Camas, Wash., where she manages a budget of “similar-size” to LPOSD.
Rachelle Hutchens. Courtesy photo
“I’m the person that people call when things are going sideways,” said Hutchens. “I’ve had the FBI call because we’ve had a security breach internationally. I’ve had flooding in our building too, graffiti, people showing up that are getting stopped [or] stopping our employees. … I get the right people in the room, have the discussion, ask the hard questions, making sure that we’re making data-driven decisions and I see [this position] being very similar.”
According to her interview with district officials, she and her family moved to Bonner County several years ago to be a part of LPOSD. Her three children now attend Southside Elementary.
When asked to describe the position, Huchens said that board members enable “the educators and the staff to meet the mission, which is making sure that we are taking care of all the students.”
Fletcher’s interview answers emphasized the future of artificial intelligence, which he hoped to help integrate into the “educational process” through the board of trustees.
“It’s my hunch that AI is more than a fad,” said Fletcher. “I think it’s here, and I think the possibility of integrating AI into the educational process, if dealt with appropriately [and] understood, can have a profound impact.”
Of the two candidates, Hutchens received the only nomination from the board, which then voted unanimously to elect her. She will assume her seat following a swearing-in ceremony at the Tuesday, May 12 board meeting at 5 p.m. at the LPOSD headquarters (365 Triangle Drive, in Ponderay).
Want to support independent local journalism?
The Sandpoint Reader is our town's local, independent weekly newspaper. "Independent" means that the Reader is locally owned and operated by people who were born and raised in Sandpoint. The Reader is owned by Publisher Ben Olson, Editor-in-Chief Zach Hagadone and Senior Writer Soncirey Mitchell. Sandpoint Reader LLC is a completely independent business unit; no big newspaper group or corporate conglomerate or billionaire owner dictates our editorial policy. And we want the news, opinion and lifestyle stories we report to be freely available to all interested readers - so unlike many other newspapers and media websites, we have NO PAYWALL on our website. The Reader relies wholly on the support of our valued advertisers, as well as readers who voluntarily contribute. Want to ensure that local, independent journalism survives in our town? You can help support the Reader for as little as $1.
TIMBER WARS: Six-part series, February-November 2022. GO READ IT»
WHERE ARE THE WORKERS?: Five-part series, September-October 2021. GO READ IT»
THE AMERICAN REDOUBT: Seven-part series, November-December 2017. GO READ IT»
STANDOFF AT RUBY RIDGE: 25 Years Later. Five-part series, August-September 2017. GO READ IT»
Curious about what media the locals use? Check our 2018 Local Media Survey. GO SEE »
Sandpoint in Pictures
Filmmaker Jimmy Matlosz of the Idaho Film Company has made a series of mini documentaries about influential Sandpoint locals, including the late Dann Hall and Erik Daarstad as well as icons Diane Michaels and Dan Shook. He is currently working on a series of interviews connected to the history of the Panida Theater. Jimmy is a 30-year veteran filmmaker who's work can be seen at dpmatlosz.com.
Meet the Reader
Ever wonder who makes the Reader happen? Here's a behind-the-scenes look pieced together by summer 2017 intern McCalee Cain in which Ben, Cameron and Lyndsie explain what exactly about the Reader keeps them coming back to their shabby (but well-loved) office each week.
