The Idaho Public Charter School Commission evaluated two finalists for the executive director role during an executive session Tuesday afternoon.
The publicly funded entity that oversees most of Idaho charter schools did not release the names of the finalists, though Idaho EdNews filed a public records request for them.
Four commissioners attended the special meeting to evaluate candidates: Chair Alan Reed, Commissioner Wanda Quinn, Sherilynn Bair and Pete Koehler. Commissioners Lisa Paulos and Wally Hedrick were not present. Commissioner Paul Amador was a candidate for the position, Reed said.
The meeting kicked off at 4 p.m. and commissioners exited executive session at 5:15 p.m. The commission’s next meeting is August 14.
The meeting came after a turbulent year for the commission, which has experienced frequent leadership turnover in recent years.
In April, the commission hired Korey Mereness to fill the role after a recommendation from Gov. Brad Little. The commission did not post the position or make any recruitment efforts. Mereness was hired with little discussion after a private interview with Commission Chair Alan Reed.
He lasted a month in the role before tendering his resignation citing health issues but behind the scenes a growing group of constituents, including Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, were poised to raised concerns over Mereness’ arrest and subsequent 2004 acquittal on a charge of sexual abuse of a child.
Prior to Mereness’ hiring, the commision was led by Jacob Smith, who resigned sometime between the commission’s Dec. 12 meeting and January 10. Smith joined the charter commission staff in 2022 as the agency’s finance program manager.
He was promoted to the director role in December 2023 after a series of directors resigning, making him the third person to hold the title in one year.
Previous director Nichole Hall resigned in favor of another job after just two months with the commission. Hall replaced Jenn Thompson, who resigned in March of 2023 alongside former commissioner Brian Scigliano. The pair accused the board of acting irresponsibly.
