Vallivue trustees on Tuesday night interviewed two candidates to fill a board vacancy, huddled to discuss, then came to a “consensus” on who they wanted to appoint.
Who won the seat is unclear because no motion or vote was taken to select their favorite. However, board Chair Jennifer Cox told both candidates she would call them on Wednesday to inform them of the board’s decision. The board also entered into an executive session on Tuesday without making a motion in open session or explaining the reason for the session.
The district is now consulting legal counsel to determine if any violations of Idaho’s Open Meeting Law occurred and if any corrective actions are needed, according to a statement from district leaders to EdNews on Thursday morning.
“School board members are community members who work diligently to carry out their responsibilities in compliance with Idaho law, including the requirements of the Open Meetings Law,” the district stated. “When questions regarding compliance arise, the Board takes those concerns seriously and addresses them in accordance with applicable law.”
Idaho trustees — typically elected unless a vacancy happens mid-term — are responsible for millions in taxpayer dollars, the education of thousands of students and the supervision of the district’s superintendent.
Idaho law requires all board decisions to be made in an open meeting by a motion, a second and a vote. Also, board meeting agendas are to include action items, such as voting for a new trustees. Those things didn’t appear to happen on Tuesday.
In West Ada for example, trustees in October 2025 filled a vacancy in a 58-minute special meeting, which was livestreamed and recorded. The trustees interviewed four candidates, then discussed their thoughts on the candidates and conducted a formal motion and vote to appoint candidate Evelyn McCullough.
Vallivue’s process on Tuesday was different. The board interviewed two candidates — retired educator Henry Dauber and naturopathic medical doctor Brett Butterfield — in an open work session, then the trustees gathered around a table (shown below), with one trustee’s back to the audience, and quietly discussed their preferred candidate.
There was no motion or vote on the appointment during the work session or the following regular board meeting. Vallivue does not video record or livestream any meetings and provides a live conference call option for regular board meetings, but not work sessions.
“So the next board meeting that’s going to be on the agenda as a motion,” trustee Clay Christensen said after trustees came to a consensus to select Butterfield.
After coming to that consensus, Superintendent Lisa Boyd approached an EdNews reporter in attendance and asked him not to report on the board’s consensus before Cox had a chance to call the two candidates the following day.
“At least give her time to call them,” Boyd told EdNews.
“They just came to consensus tonight and then in the November meeting they’ll do the motion and put the person on,” Boyd added.
The trustees then walked into another room for an executive session, but did not conduct a vote in open session to enter an executive session and did not provide a reason for the executive session — as required under Idaho Statutes and explained in the attorney general’s Open Meeting Law Manual.
“We always go into executive session, and they call the executive session when we go in there,” Boyd told EdNews after the meeting.
Several minutes into the executive session, Allen came out of the room and asked Board Clerk Jenny Titus to schedule a special meeting for Wednesday night to make a formal vote to appoint a candidate to fill the vacancy.
On Wednesday morning there was no agenda posted for that special meeting — the law requires 24 hours notice — and that meeting has since been canceled due to “scheduling conflicts,” according to an email from Allen on Wednesday morning.
District leaders did not provide any update on when the board might take a formal motion and vote on the appointment in Thursday’s email to EdNews.
The bigger picture in Vallivue
The Vallivue School District five-member board of trustees currently has three members: Cox, Christensen and Amy Johnson.
Trustee Toni Brinegar resigned in June from Zone 3 and trustee Paul Tierney resigned in August from Zone 4.
The two vacancies come as the growing district is running a 10-year, $30 million plant-facilities levy in November and considering two projects to alleviate overcrowding. The district is also under investigation by the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office over a 2024 land deal with a trustee’s father, as first reported by EdNews.
Now the board is working to fill the two vacancies. Idaho statutes lay out the process to do so.
In general, the law requires a board to appoint a new trustee within 90 days. If the board is not able to appoint a trustee from within the vacated zone within that 90-day window, the board can appoint someone from any zone. If a vacancy is not filled within 120 days, the law says appointments “shall be made by the board of county commissioners.”
Brinegar’s resignation went into effect June 12. As of Thursday, that was 125 days ago.
