The Kuna School Board chose not to renew its contract with the Idaho School Boards Association (ISBA) in a split vote last week.
Trustee Hillary Lowe drove the decision, laying out frustrations about training, lobbying and the organization’s superintendent search service.
ISBA represents and trains school boards, advocates on education policy, and provides legal, leadership, and governance support to districts. The group promotes legislation based on resolutions approved annually by trustees.
Kuna trustees largely agreed the district’s $12,000 contract with ISBA was no issue. Their disagreement centered mostly on ISBA’s lobbying and political positions.
Trustees Michael Thornton and JD Grant wanted to continue the contract to support ISBA’s lobbying efforts in the Legislature.
“The way public education is perceived, currently, I think it’s important that we have a seat at the table,” said Thornton, board chair.
Lowe said ISBA was not the seat at the table she wanted.
“I haven’t paid attention to every detail of it, but I feel like there’s quite a few school board and community members that take issue with the direction that (ISBA-supported) legislation has taken,” said Lowe.
Elected trustees from across the state direct ISBA’s lobbying. Prior to the Kuna board’s decision, only two of the state’s 115 school districts did not contract with ISBA: Pleasant Valley and an embattled Lakeland.
In the 2026 legislative session, ISBA Deputy Director Quinn Perry pushed for increased special education funding and spoke against private school tax credits.
Kuna Trustee Kyrsti Bruce, whose husband represents District 23 in the Idaho House of Representatives, said ISBA-backed legislation hasn’t been very impactful in the Statehouse.
Still, Grant suggested tabling the vote for another month. Lowe, who also questioned the value of ISBA’s board trainings, pushed ahead with a motion to cut ties, which passed 3-2.
“I haven’t found a lot of value in the training we’ve received,” Lowe said. Trustee Freddy Wheeler agreed.
The two said the board’s most recent ISBA training felt like a waste of time.
“We don’t use them for policy, we use our lawyer for policy,” Lowe said.
Trustees work with Boise attorney Jill Holinka of Holinka Law when creating policies, said Kuna district spokesperson Allison Westfall.
The board recently selected Marcus Myers, a West Ada administrator, to be Kuna’s next superintendent. ISBA performed the search. Lowe and Wheeler also disliked the services.
“The process, I found clunky and awkward,” Wheeler said of the superintendent search, adding that he was still happy with the outcome.
Last year, Lowe proposed eliminating the district’s in-house transportation department in favor of a contractor, meeting harsh resistance from district employees. Trustees decided against the idea in a meeting she didn’t attend.
ISBA Executive Director Misty Swanson attended last week’s meeting. She responded to questions from trustees but was not invited to speak before the board.
A statement from ISBA after the board’s decision noted Kuna’s apparent dislike for advice from ISBA’s legal counsel and expressed disappointment in the vote.
Cick here to watch the entire board meeting.
