March 2026 update

Moscow Charter School

Moscow Charter School administrator Tony Bonuccelli is looking for a change.

His position as head of the school is open for applications on the Idaho School Boards Association’s website.

Moscow Charter focuses on science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM). The school staffs 15 teachers, 11 classified staff members and one administrator.

Bonuccelli has lead the school for 13 years.

“I decided it’s the best time to make a change,” he told Idaho Education news via phone call.

Bonuccelli cited behavioral issues among younger grades. One student can take up more than an hour of his day, he said. He’s also seen a “huge increase in special education needs.”

Bonuccelli thanked the school’s board, particularly board chair Leslie Baker, and staff. He’ll help his replacement transition into the school.

The application closes March 23.

February 2026 update

Hagerman

Hagerman trustees selected three superintendent finalists at a Feb. 23 special board meeting.

• Daniel Knapp is an internal candidate who teaches vocational agriculture in the Hagerman district. He’s also a dual credit teacher through the College of Southern Idaho.
• Kasey Teske is the principal of Ririe Junior/Senior High School and has worked in the Twin Falls district.
• Troy Thayne is an assistant superintendent in the Marsh Valley district. He’s worked in the Alaska State Department of Education, Firth School District, Army National Guard and as a curriculum specialist at McGraw-Hill.

The district is hosting a community forum at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at Hagerman Junior/Senior High.

Soda Springs

Southeast Idaho district Soda Springs published a superintendent job opening on the Idaho School Boards Association website.

The district has around 769 students in its elementary, middle and high schools.

Scott Muir is the superintendent.

Soda Springs was placed on a corrective action plan last year after the state investigation found systemic issues with the district’s special education program, largely stemming from being understaffed. The investigation also found that the schools are all at capacity.

The district operates with a $9 million budget including a $993,000 levy, according to the district’s superintendent search pamphlet.

Cassia

Cassia trustees voted to hire Scott Root as superintendent.

Root was a finalist in Caldwell’s superintendent search, and has withdrew from Caldwell’s forum on Feb. 26.

Caldwell

Trustees voted unanimously to hire Jeremy Montoya to be the next superintendent of the Caldwell district.

Montoya is the principal at Mountain View High in the West Ada district. He’s been an educator for 29 years.

Trustees said it was a difficult choice: They spent more than eight hours in executive session on Friday, Feb. 27.

Kuna

Trustees in the Kuna School District named Marcus Myers as the district’s next superintendent.

They made the decision after a day of interviews, a district tour as well as staff and community forums.

Myers will take over this summer following the retirement of current superintendent Kim Bekkedahl, who stepped in to replace Wendy Johnson, Boise’s soon-to-be superintendent, in 2024.

Read more here.

Plummer/Worley

An opening for the superintendency at the Plummer/Worley School District is on the Idaho School Boards Association website.

Plummer/Worley is a rural North Idaho district within the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation. It serves about 370 students who attend Lakeside Elementary, Middle and High School.

The district primarily serves Native American students and is funded in part by a supplemental levy and federal funds that make up for the lack of taxes on the reservation.

The application window closes March 16, and the board aims to do interviews between March and April.

The application notes that essay questions answered with artificial intelligence won’t be accepted.

South Lemhi

A job application for superintendent of South Lemhi School District is available on the district’s website.

Shane Johnston, the district’s superintendent, interviewed for a principal position in West Bonner last year. Two months ago, Johnston announced on his LinkedIn that he is looking for a new job.

Currently, the district website lists no superintendent on its “Staff” page.

Hansen

There is an opening for the superintendent position at the Hansen school district on the district’s website.

The board plans to start screening applications Feb. 29, and start doing interviews March 9, according to the job description.

Hansen is a small rural district of around 300 students. Current superintendent Angie Lakey-Campbell is also an 8th grade math teacher, Title IX coordinator and director of federal programs.

Lakey-Campbell is retiring after five years with the district. She was formerly a principal and superintendent in Imbler, Ore., and a principal in Cambridge.

Bruneau-Grand View

Trustees approved a contract to hire Interim Superintendent Ken Higbee as superintendent of the Bruneau-Grand View district, discarding a plan to hire the Idaho School Board Association’s search services. Higbee will replace Jeff Blaser, who resigned abruptly mid-year.

“I’ve known Jeff for a couple of years and he’s an outstanding man and a quality educator and loves kids, but I think it was just time for him to be with his family,” Higbee said.

Higbee signed a contract for the 2026-27 school year. His current contract is a six-month deal from Jan 5 to June 30 for $55,000.

An administrative complaint filed with the Professional Standards Committee alleges that Blaser provided student records to law enforcement “without a basis to communicate such a record, such as a subpoena, or in the event of a health or safety emergency.”

The Professional Standards Committee has not issued any discipline to Blaser.

Genesee

Genesee trustees voted to hire current Kamiah Superintendent Paul Anselmo to lead the Genesee district, effective July 1 of 2026.

Anselmo signed a three-year contract with a $110,000 salary that is renegotiated each year.

Whitepine, Aberdeen

Applications for the superintendent positions are still open on the Idaho School Boards Association’s website for the these districts.

January 2026 update

Grangeville and Clearwater Valley

The newly deconsolidated Grangeville and Clearwater Valley district boards of trustees worked in tandem, appointing their respective high school principals as interim superintendents, as the Idaho County Free Press reported.

Effective immediately, Grangeville High Principal Amanda Bush will serve as the interim Grangeville district superintendent.

Also effective immediately, Clearwater Valley principal Vincent Martinez was named interim superintendent of the Clearwater Valley district.

Both positions will expire this summer, as the current Mountain View School District goes through deconsolidation.

Former superintendent Alica Holthaus opted not to continue her contract with the district.

Both new school boards also voted to hired the Idaho School Board Association to help them search for full-time superintendents after the interim contracts expire.

Boise

Boise trustees unanimously voted to interview only deputy superintendent Wendy Johnson for the district’s top administrative role.

The interview will be on Jan. 29 , when trustees will decide if they want Johnson to succeed superintendent Lisa Roberts, who announced her retirement at a regular board meeting in mid-January.

Johnson is currently the deputy superintendent of teaching and learning in the state’s second-largest district. She brings more than a decade of superintendent experience, having served as the Kuna School District’s superintendent for 12 years.

Of the district’s last six superintendents, five have been internal hires. Boise’s other deputy superintendent  Nick Smith declined an opportunity to interview. He said his responsibilities as a father and desire to spend time with his family made the superintendency something he’s not ready to pursue.

Cassia

Cassia School District trustees will review applications and schedule interviews at a Monday, Jan. 26, board meeting.

The superintendency remains open for applications on the district’s website.

In December, the position had already received “a few applicants” and Superintendent Sandra Miller said she wanted time for candidates to apply.

Kuna

Five candidates submitted applications for superintendent of the Kuna School District as of a Jan. 13 board meeting.

After the job opening closes at the end of January, Idaho School Board Association representatives will allow trustees to view applications. The board plans to choose semifinalists or finalists in February and make a decision in March.

ISBA representative Katie Russell told trustees she expects more candidates to submit applications as the Jan. 31 closing date approaches. She stressed her impartiality in the process, explaining that she doesn’t weed out or remove any candidates herself.

“The ISBA staff … we don’t live in or work in the district and don’t feel we are best suited to decide who is right for the district. Instead, we provide the board with as much information as possible about each candidate so the board feels empowered to make the best decision for the district.”

Caldwell

Caldwell’s Jan. 12 board meeting did not contain an update on the board’s search. The board hired the Idaho School Board Association to perform the search.

Genesee

A job posting on ISBA’s website for superintendent of the Genesee School District closed Jan. 12. It received seven applications, Genesee board clerk Melissa Lindquist told EdNews.

The board is scheduling interviews and hopes to hire a superintendent by Feb. 11.

The district is searching for a replacement after former superintendent Wendy Moore resigned in November.

Whitepine

A job listing for superintendent of the Whitepine School District appeared on the Idaho School Board Association’s website this month.

It asks applicants to submit a cover letter, including their philosophy and reason for interest, and an essay detailing “a system in our district that provides the best in state education to our students.”

The application window closes Feb. 13, and trustees will perform interviews between February and March, according to the district’s brochure.

Aberdeen

A job listing for Aberdeen’s superintendent role also appeared on the Idaho School Board Association’s website in December.

The board is waiting for the application to close because ISBA conceals candidates during the application window. Once it closes, trustees are given the list of candidates organized randomly to put them all on equal footing.

Hagerman

An opening for the superintendent position at Hagerman School District has received 6 applications so far, Russell told Hagerman trustees at their regular Jan. 19 board meeting.

The job opening asks applicants to answer two out of five essay questions. The position closes Feb. 15.

Hagerman’s previous superintendent, James Brown, resigned following allegations that students witnessed him using a shower at the Hagerman Junior/Senior High School. 

He was placed on paid leave by the district’s board and issued a reprimand letter by the state Professional Standards Commission before resigning in March 2025.

December update

Updated Dec. 17 with details about Caldwell’s search

Cassia

A job posting for superintendent of Cassia County School District has received a “few applicants,” said current superintendent Sandra Miller.

The district’s board will meet to determine what questions it will ask the applicants later this month.

Miller plans to retire after the academic year, concluding her 39-year career.

Caldwell

The Caldwell School Board’s search to replace outgoing superintendent Shalene French resulted in a job posting last week.

At a special board meeting Monday, Dec. 15, trustees planned to hold a public forum when they announce their final candidates in the spring.

Board chair Travis Manning expressed concerns about the legal requirement to publicly disclose the four finalists’ names, asking an Idaho School Boards Association representative conducting the search how much information must be public.

The representative confirmed the district must reveal the finalists’ names.

Genesee

Genesee superintendent Wendy Moore resigned in November, and will take on a superintendent job in Michigan to be closer to family after her husband died this summer. The Genesee School District hopes to hire a new superintendent by February.

The district hired ISBA to perform the search, and the job opening is available on ISBA’s website.

Moore also directed the Idaho Department of Education’s North Idaho Regional Support Center.

Kuna

Kuna School District’s superintendent job listing is also available on ISBA’s website.

Last month, Kuna trustees discussed essay questions, but they won’t settle on a final essay question until February.

October update

Cassia

Cassia School District superintendent Sandra Miller plans to retire after the academic year and a 39-year career.

Cassia will initiate its search for a replacement in-house, with a February 2026 deadline to start interviewing candidates.

In November, Cassia’s board plans to issue its community a survey with open-ended and multiple-choice responses.

The board also plans to publish the job opening in November, Miller told Idaho Education News. She wants to give “ample time” for people to apply.

Applicants from across the country will also be invited to apply through mainstream job posting services like Indeed, Miller said.

Kuna

Kuna trustees scheduled a special meeting in November to discuss their superintendent search. They reviewed results from a community survey at a Tuesday, Oct. 14, board meeting.

The survey, conducted by the Idaho School Board Association, got responses from 238 parents, faculty, students and constituents. It was part of the $8,750 package Kuna hired ISBA to provide.

Respondents, who are anonymous in the survey, could write answers to open-ended questions in addition to answering multiple-choice questions. 

Some common themes emerged.

About eight respondents expressed desires for a superintendent to focus on students with special and unique needs.

“A common topic of conversation is the frustration parents have when it comes to getting the district to follow their students’ (Individual Education Plans),” one respondent said. 

“I would like a superintendent who would be willing to look into why special education in this district is struggling to meet these students’ needs.”

About a dozen respondents asked for transparency or communication.

“There is a skewed perception of the superintendent office. Transparency is key,” a respondent said.

The board’s timeline sets a March 2026 goal for hiring a new leader. 

Caldwell

Caldwell school board trustees voted to hire Idaho School Boards Association’s superintendent search services at a Monday, Oct. 13, board meeting.

Caldwell trustees hired ISBA for a $9,750 package that provides marketing services, a full superintendent search and a team-building workshop.

Caldwell trustees scheduled a work session for Monday, Oct. 27, to discuss their superintendent search.