POCATELLO — School District 25 voters chose continuity over change Tuesday, reelecting all three incumbent board members in races that ranged from landslides to a nail-biter decided by just three votes.

Heather Clarke and Deanna Judy cruised to victory with more than 60 percent of the vote in their respective zones, while Megan Furniss narrowly held onto her Zone 1 seat against challenger Cami Ellis in Bannock County’s closest race of the night.

Judy, who is currently the Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 board chair, reflected on the recent wins during an interview with the Idaho State Journal.

“I’m happy,” Judy said. “I think that those ladies have done a lot of work and a really good job. I’m excited to continue working together with them, and even though we don’t agree on everything, we get along very well. I feel like it’s really good for the public to see themselves in the trustees, see that their views are being considered. I think it’s a really good thing to have a variety of views and opinions. I’m very happy about it, and I think we are going to do really well.”

Judy attributed the incumbent sweep to the trustees’ willingness to hold public forums for big decisions made by the district. Judy believes it’s that transparency and constructive feedback that has instilled trust in their ability to lead and make informed decisions for learners and teachers alike.

“I just want that very open communication with the parents and the teachers, so that the decisions that I make are reflective of that,” Judy said.

With all three incumbents winning their respective Pocatello-Chubbuck school board trustee seats, the citizens of the Gate City have reaffirmed their trust in their school board representatives.

Furniss, who was appointed to the school board earlier this year, narrowly secured her Zone 1 seat by a slim margin with 1,072 votes, or 50.07 percent, against challenger Ellis, who received 1,069 votes, or 49.93 percent.

Ellis told the Journal on Thursday she would not request a recount despite the three-vote margin.

Incumbent Zone 2 Trustee Clarke took a significant lead early Tuesday evening and never looked back in defending her seat with a final count of 2,218 votes, or 63.61 percent, against challenger Douglas Johnson, who had 1,269 votes, or 36.39 percent.

Incumbent Zone 5 Trustee Judy also won her seat by a significant margin, securing 2,354 votes, or 58.82 percent, against challenger David Mattson, who received 1,648 votes, or 41.18 percent.