Some regional officials are concerned that Southeast Idaho — home to Pocatello-based Idaho State University — no longer has a representative on the State Board of Education.

Richard Westerberg of Preston had been the lone representative from Southeast Idaho before Gov. Brad Little’s office announced the appointment of Kurt Liebich of Boise to fill his vacant seat.

Sen. Mark Nye, D-Pocatello, acknowledged that Liebich is “very, very qualified.” But all things being equal, he would have preferred the addition of “someone from our area who has ties and affinity with the (ISU) Bengals.”

“I was disappointed we didn’t get somebody from our region,” Nye said.

“We were all hoping it would be somebody who is local and had great connections with ISU. We’re going to have to educate this person.”

Shawn Keough of Sandpoint was also recently appointed to fill a board vacancy.

Janie Gebhardt, who is in her 14th year as a member of the Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 Board of Trustees, was among a large of candidates vying for the State Board position. She believes the governor should have chosen one of the candidates from Southeast Idaho — perhaps a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. She was frustrated when the board added yet another member from the Boise area.

“If we don’t have somebody over here, how do we keep people on the same page?” Gebhardt asked. “There are different needs (in different regions) — and certainly there are different needs from a city to a rural area.”

Emma Atchley of Ashton is the board’s sole remaining member from all of East Idaho. Terms of both Atchley and Linda Clark of Meridian are scheduled to expire on June 30.

Atchley declined to comment on whether or not she intends to seek reappointment, given that she hasn’t discussed the issue with other officials. She noted state law doesn’t require that geographic distribution be a factor in appointing board members.

“The quality of the individual is very important,” Atchley said. “Because of the nature of the state, it is useful to have some geographical representation, but I don’t think that is the primary factor for membership on the board.”

Julie VanOrden, a former Republican state lawmaker from Blackfoot who chaired the House Education Committee for two years, emphasized the board has traditionally had a representative from the state’s southeastern corner. She hopes Little will choose someone from Southeast Idaho if a seat opens in July.

“I was surprised when he didn’t pick somebody from over here. There were so many people on that list who were from Southeast Idaho,” VanOrden said. “He had a lot of good candidates to pick from.”

VanOrden is a current commissioner with the Idaho Public Charter School Commission. She said she understands that the governor’s choice was motivated by his desire to strengthen the ties between Idaho businesses and education, but she also believes it’s important for the board to contain voices from different regions of the state.

“Certainly the different universities have a different focus. To bring that different focus in Southeast Idaho to the board I think is important,” VanOrden said.

Emily Callahan, a spokeswoman for Little, explained that the governor chose both Liebich and Keough from the membership of the Our Kids, Idaho’s Future task force, which was tasked with formulating a blueprint for improving investment in public education from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Liebich is the chairman and CEO of Boise-based RedBuilt LLC, which is a structural engineering company, and New Wood Resources LLC, which is a veneer and plywood products operation. He has served on the boards of educational organizations such as Idaho Business for Education, Project Lead the Way, Riverstone International School and the Lee Pesky Center.

Callahan said Liebich provides the perspective of “somebody who employs people and knows what types of characteristics workers need.”

“I think that a representative of the southeast part of the state is definitely a factor in any of these board appointments,” Callahan said. “I think it’s more about the person and their blend of experience and whether it matches up with the governor’s vision for education in Idaho.”

Other appointed board members include Debbie Critchfield of Oakley, David Hill of Boise and Andrew Scoggin of Boise.