The Filer School District appeared to violate Idaho’s open meeting law for a second time Friday, weeks after Superintendent Kelli Schroeder acknowledged an earlier “unintentional” violation involving teacher contract negotiations.
After an inquiry from EdNews regarding the lack of public notice for a June 29 negotiation meeting, board clerk Teresa Kullhelm posted a notice for the meeting the following day. EdNews editor Jennifer Swindell sent Schroeder a formal notice of the possible open meeting violation.
“Yes, there was an unintentional violation of the Open Meeting Law,” Schroeder responded via email on July 6, after consulting with an attorney. “We will publicly acknowledge and self-report the violation at the next meeting.”
The district and union met again at 8 a.m. Friday, July 24, for another negotiation session, but a notice was not posted to the district’s Google Drive until 7:48 a.m., 12 minutes before the meeting began. The notice includes an agenda item to “rectify” the posting of the June 29 negotiations.
Negotiations between school districts and unions are subject to Idaho’s open meeting law, which requires districts to post notices for all negotiations at the “earliest possible time practicable” on the front page of the district’s website. No notice for either Friday’s negotiations or the June 29 session appeared on the front page of Filer’s website. The district posts school board agendas on its website and has posted negotiation notices on its Google Drive.
While most districts have wrapped up negotiations and have ratified agreements for the 2026-27 school year, Filer’s agreement lapsed on July 1. Union members do not yet have a new agreement, weeks before school begins.
The district and union have met three times for negotiations, on June 9, June 29 and July 24. Kullhelm published notice for the June 9 meeting the day before the meeting and published notice for the June 29 meeting a day after the meeting.
“If we are in violation, we will need to go back and correct that,” Schroeder told EdNews in a June 29 interview.
Districts that violate open meeting law can cure a violation by acknowledging it and declaring void any decisions made at that meeting.
In an email to Swindell, Schroeder said no final decisions were made on June 29. The next negotiation would begin with a recap of the previous discussion and both parties would need to agree that the summary is accurate, she wrote.
Filer does not livestream or record its school board meetings or negotiations.
Christine Knight, president of the Filer Education Association, told EdNews that the district and union reached an agreement during Friday’s negotiations and union members will now vote on ratification.
Superintendent contract
Schroeder is on a two-year contract from July 2025 through June 2027, but school board trustees met several times this year in executive session to consider changes to her contract.
The board voted during a June 3 special meeting to continue Schroeder’s contract at her current annual salary of $152,358 for the 2026-27 school year, according to meeting minutes.
In an interview, Schroeder said the board has a new trustee that wanted to understand how superintendent contracts work.
“I wouldn’t say there was anything concerning, it was more just making sure everyone was on the same page,” she said.
When asked if she has plans to retire, Schroeder said she likes to say that she doesn’t know what she’s going to do when she grows up. She said she doesn’t know how much longer she is going to work as superintendent.
“I really don’t know that right now,” she said. “Right now it’s kind of hard to be in education.”
It seems like there is an attack on education and administration right now, she said, adding that she has reached the threshold that educators need to reach for early retirement benefits.
“I’ve met my rule of 90, so I will see what the future brings,” Schroeder said.
