The Idaho School Boards Association (ISBA) has provided services and support for school boards across the state since 1942.

Back then, it was the Idaho Trustees Association.

The association's historical documents show “a bunch of school board members who figured out, ‘Well, if we all get together and we start comparing what is happening in your area of the state versus ours, maybe we can find and solve some common problems — we can have some similar resources,’” ISBA Executive Director Misty Swanson told Idaho Education News.

Swanson has worked at the organization for 20 years, serving in nearly every role in that time. ISBA has 10 staff members responsible for lobbying, research, policy, events, board development and communication.

Schools pay the association for services ranging from legal counsel and lobbying to superintendent searches and board training. Governed by a 22-member executive board made up of Idaho school board members, ISBA’s membership includes 112 public school districts and 56 charters as of July 2026.

Four districts are not members:

• Pleasant Valley left in 2022
• Lakeland left in 2023
• West Ada and Kuna left in 2026

Here’s a closer look at what ISBA does for school boards across the state:

Policy services and legal counsel

Tight budgets prevent many of Idaho’s school boards from hiring full-time legal counsel. ISBA member boards receive four free hours of legal counsel per year. Boards can then access legal services, among many other benefits and services, for an annual membership fee as low as $1,200, depending on the size of their district. At the top end, largest districts pay up to $45,000 a year for membership.

As lawmakers update and create laws, districts and charters implement and update policies to comply. Usually, a lawyer interprets the law for board members and writes a draft policy for the board to approve.

To save time and money, ISBA writes and distributes draft policies that member districts and charters can adopt.

Annual membership fees cover services including:

• Board clerk services
• Chair and vice chair webinars
• Various publications and tools
• Regional meetings
• Legislative representative meetings
• Policy update webinars
• Labor relations assistance

Other services have standalone fees, some of which can be offset with $6,600 in reimbursable funding the state provides for training per district or charter. Here are some of those services:

• Board development workshops: $1,500 for a 1.5-hour workshop
• Superintendent searches: $3,750 to $9,750 flat fee for a nationwide search
• Annual convention: $600 per attendee, partially reimbursable
• Day on the Hill event at the Statehouse: $200 per attendee but partially reimbursable
• Leadership Institute: $150 and fully reimbursable

Board and clerk training

When a new board member starts, they must learn a variety of responsibilities. They must adopt rules of order, usually using Robert’s Rules of Order, a 150-year-old guide for conducting orderly meetings. They also review policies, budgets and statistics, and direct business dealings.

Board clerks record meetings and maintain official records.

ISBA offers a variety of training for clerks and new board members, including board workshops, statewide events like the annual Clerk’s Retreat and a webinar package for new board members.

Lobbying

ISBA’s lobbying positions are set by its member boards through the resolution process. At the annual ISBA convention, members submit and vote on resolutions: issues and positions that members believe need to be addressed in state law or administrative rule. If passed during ISBA’s business session, ISBA will push for them during the legislative session.

The ISBA executive board’s resolution committee, composed of Idaho school board members, discusses the resolutions and delivers them to the executive board with “pass” or “do not pass” recommendations. The 22-member executive board votes on adopting them.

Resolutions typically last two years. But if one is adopted year after year, the board votes to make it permanent. ISBA has a permanent resolution to oppose private school tax credits, for example.

Voting structure

Voting at the annual convention is weighted based on student enrollment, with two systems, similar to a House and Senate structure.

Base votes are similar to the U.S. Senate, where each size category receives a standard number of votes. Each district or charter is classified as small, intermediate, large or extra large based on student enrollment.

• Small: 30 votes
• Intermediate: 70 votes
• Large: 75 votes
• Extra large: 100 votes

The remainder of each member's votes are apportioned based on enrollment, similar to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Under ISBA's bylaws, neither smaller districts nor larger districts can control more than half of the organization's total voting power.

Superintendent searches

ISBA’s website lists superintendent searches the organization performs for districts and charters.

Boards that hire ISBA to conduct a search choose from three packages: $3,750 to market the job opening and up to $9,750 to perform an entire search and do a team-building workshop.

ISBA’s budget

ISBA operates on an annual budget of around $2 million. Funding comes from business partnerships, membership dues, training fees and exhibitors at the association’s annual school board gathering.