The executive director of the Idaho Public Charter School Commission has stepped down, after just a month on the job.

Korey Mereness resigned Friday, citing health issues, commission chair Alan Reed told EdNews.

But some in the education community had privately raised concerns over Mereness’ arrest and subsequent 2004 acquittal on a charge of sexual abuse of a child. 

“I was stunned,” said Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls.

Ehardt, who serves on the House Education Committee, said she was “prepared to raise heck over this.” She said friends who work in charter schools forwarded her information about Mereness’ arrest and acquittal.

When she learned of Mereness’ resignation Monday, Ehardt said it was likely because news of his past had spread.

“I’m sure that his health concerns had to do with all of our concerns,” she said.

Mereness did not immediately respond to request for comment. When asked about the acquittal during an interview with EdNews last month, Mereness noted he was cleared of the charge and said he has been transparent about the incident throughout his career.

“The way I have moved forward in my career is I’ve always allowed space to have discussions,” Mereness said. “If people have had questions, I’ve always been willing to talk about that.”

It’s unclear what the commission knew about Mereness’ charge and acquittal when he was hired last month.

The commission unanimously, with one abstention, voted April 10 to hire Mereness after an interview with Reed.  The commission did not conduct a formal search for a new executive director, or post the job, instead opting for a targeted recruitment effort.

Mereness was the only person interviewed, Reed said.

Joshua Whitworth, the State Board of Education’s executive director until May 2, did not seem surprised last month when he was asked about Mereness’ acquittal. Whitworth has since left the State Board for a private-sector job.

However, Reed said the commission was not aware of the charge and acquittal.

During a special meeting Monday, commissioners voted to appoint Jennifer White, the State Board’s newly hired executive director, as charter commission interim director.

Latest resignation continues revolving door of charter directors

Mereness’ resignation continues a revolving door of commission executive directors over recent years.

Whitworth was interim executive director from January until Mereness was hired.

The previous executive director, Jacob Smith, resigned sometime between the commission’s Dec. 12 meeting and Jan. 10. Smith, who had joined the charter commission staff in 2022 as finance program manager, was promoted to the director role in December 2023.

At the time, Smith became the third person to hold the position in the span of a year. Nichole Hall resigned in favor of another job after just two months with the commission. Hall had replaced Jenn Thompson, who resigned in March 2023 alongside former commissioner Brian Scigliano; the pair accused the board of acting irresponsibly.

During Monday’s meeting, Commissioner Sherrilynn Bair said she hoped a nationwide search would show the commission does its due diligence when hiring.

“We’ve got a couple of pretty big black eyes and I would like to do what we can to get those healed a little bit,” Bair said.

The commissioners seemed to support creating a hiring bonus, a sum that increases each year for five years, to encourage longevity in the position. Commissioners also raised concerns over the position’s pay. Mereness was making about $50 an hour, or $115,000 a year.

The commission plans to hold another special meeting next week to officially launch the search.