Dozens of Lakeland community members, including three former superintendents, asked Lakeland trustees to return Superintendent Rusty Taylor to his position or resign at a board meeting Wednesday night.
An open letter signed by 84 patrons and former employees called the recent decision to place Taylor on leave and pay more than $200,000 to complete his contract last month “vindictive.”
“Unfortunately, the Board’s recent actions have brought shame and humiliation upon the great institution for which we once worked, love and pay taxes to support,” the letter reads. “Students, staff and patrons do not deserve the ridicule the Lakeland community is now enduring at the hands of the Board’s ineptitude.”
Those who signed the letter include:
- Bob Jones, a former superintendent and trustee who did not run for re-election to the board last November
- Lisa Arnold, who retired early as superintendent last year
- Chuck Kinsey, who retired as superintendent in 2008
- Ron Schmidt, a former assistant superintendent who retired in 2012
Arnold recently called the district’s work environment “toxic” due to the board’s actions.
Taylor’s departure, after less than a year on the job, is the latest in a series of high-profile exits. The district has had four superintendents since in the last four years. Trustees have also cycled through at least seven board clerks since 2020, according to meeting minutes.
Trustees ousted Taylor with little public explanation. Chair Michelle Thompson told EdNews Taylor was “not a good fit” and was not investigated for wrongdoing.
Idaho Education News filed public records requests to shed light on Taylor’s departure. The school district is demanding more than $1,000 to release the records and has heavily redacted documents shared with EdNews.
Community members criticize trustees
More than 60 patrons attended Wednesday’s meeting, filling the district office nearly to capacity.
Six patrons spoke during public comment, all but one criticised the decision to place Taylor on leave.
Thompson read a statement from the trustees acknowledging the community’s questions about the unanimous vote.
“As much as we would like to answer your question, state law prevents us from sharing information about the performance of a public employee,” Thompson read. “It is our duty to act within the best interests of the district, even if our legal limitations make more questions than answers. Providing answers to questions regarding the performance of any district employee could open the door for legal action and additional costs that would not be in the best interest of the district.”
The board did not respond to the open letter read by former teacher Allison Knoll. Idaho trustees often do not respond to public comment at board meetings.
“Board members could help restore trust and repair some of the damage by rescinding their action and restoring” Taylor to his rightful position, the letter reads. Otherwise, trustees should “resign their position immediately.”
Knoll also raised concerns for interim Superintendent Jake Massey, who she argued is in an “untenable” position.
“He has been in central office administration for only nine short months and now has the unenviable task to navigate running a school district of 4,600 students and over 500 employees, all while dealing with a Board that is seemingly out of control,” the letter reads.
The letter said people are starting to call Lakeland “NIC 2.0” referring to the accreditation struggles North Idaho College went through in recent years. Other signers included Mary and Will Havercroft, who both previously worked in the district. Mary Havercroft is a current NIC trustee.
Read the full letter here.
Judy Fujimoto thanked trustees for their leadership and said she personally had experiences with Taylor she “found unpleasant.”
“I trust that your decision was made in good faith,” she said.
Patron Aaron Gaskill said the board’s letter notifying the community of Taylor’s departure was “anything but transparent.” He added that Lakeland’s redactions and fees charged for public records are a bad look.
“I’m requesting the board take a personal interest in this and ensure the issue is fixed before we get sued,” Gaskill said.
Trustee Dave Quimby told EdNews Tuesday he’s frustrated that he can’t share publicly why the board put Taylor on leave.
“I’m trying not to talk about it, I want to so bad,” Quimby said. “It’s frustrating.”
He said he’s supportive of releasing any records that could shed light on the board’s decision without causing legal issues.
“Well, I think we should waive it,” Quimby said of the fee the district attempted to charge EdNews.
Thompson said she was “at a loss on that” in regard to the records request charges when asked before the meeting on Wednesday, despite being cc’d on emails from EdNews regarding the request. Thompson has not responded to multiple phone calls from EdNews.
Read more about the November Lakeland Trustee election here.
Former superintendent: Board created ‘toxic’ work environment
Lisa Arnold spent her career as an educator at Lakeland.
She was hired as superintendent in 2022 after the board didn’t renew former superintendent Becky Meyers’ contract.
Arnold took a different approach than Meyer, who often pushed back against trustees during public meetings.
“We need to be a united front when we’re in public,” said Arnold, who sat down for an interview with EdNews Wednesday.
Her first year in the role went well, said Arnold, who described her relationship with Thompson was amicable.
Then in 2023, trustees voted not to renew an agreement with Heritage Health to provide mental health services to students on campus. Following community backlash at the next board meeting, Trustee David Quimby changed his vote to allow services to continue.
The day of that second board meeting, Arnold said Thompson “reamed” her over the phone, accusing the superintendent of organizing the community against the board.
“I kept telling her I didn’t do that,” Arnold said.
Thompson seemed unconvinced, Arnold said. “From that point forward, the whole relationship changed.”
The district’s supplemental levy also failed twice during Arnold’s leadership, sparking millions of dollars in budget cuts. The board micromanaged the cuts at a series of public meetings, instead of allowing district leaders to bring proposed options, Arnold said.
“They’re so in the weeds and wanting to be the ones to make all the decisions because their interpretation of adopting a budget is making all the budgetary decisions, which is not how it’s supposed to be,” Arnold said.
Lakeland is the only large school district in the state that is not a member of the Idaho School Boards Association, which provides legal support and model board policies to districts.
“The Board’s excuse has always been ‘we can’t afford the membership fee,'” the open letter reads. “Yet now, we as taxpayers are expected to foot the bill for a contract pay off approaching $200,000. Maybe a few dollars spent on professional training would have helped prevent such poor decision-making.”
Arnold said the district’s insurance company has raised concerns over the lack of ISBA membership from a risk-management perspective.
Meanwhile, former Board Clerk Sierra Schrader told EdNews Thompson was unprofessional and demeaning.
Schrader raised concerns that the board was approving policies after one reading, which didn’t allow for public comment or review.
“She blew up on me, screaming at me in the office,” Schrader said of the September 2025 incident.
Schrader resigned in January. She said Lakeland’s staff was great to work with despite her struggles with Thompson.
“I’m not quitting the district, I’m quitting the board,” Schrader said she told trustees.
Thompson said she never yelled at Schrader and doesn’t recall the specific incident.
Toward the end of her tenure, Arnold said her relationship with Thompson was “nonexistent.” The board chair would add agenda items last minute without notifying her, Arnold said. Then, she would imply that Arnold and other district staff members were unprepared during public meetings.
“It was more an opportunity to have a gotcha moment is how it felt,” Arnold said.
District staff would routinely break down in tears both ahead of board meetings and after public ridicule or reprimand, Arnold said.
Thompson said her relationship with Arnold was a “business working relationship.”
“I can’t control other people, and so if they have issue with me and they’re not willing to talk to me about it or they’re not willing to say, hey you know, I can’t control that,” Thompson said. “I can only bring my best self forward.”
Ultimately, Arnold retired early after her doctor raised concerns about her high blood pressure and told her to reduce stress in her life.
She didn’t share her concerns about board leadership publicly when she retired out of fear that the district would struggle to find superintendent applicants.
“I also knew that everybody in the state knew what was happening in Lakeland,” Arnold said. “I didn’t want to make it harder.”
Arnold said she thought trustees needed her collaborative approach but now acknowledges it didn’t work.
“I don’t know what the right leadership style is for this particular board,” she said. “Other than being a yes man, regardless of if you think it’s right or not. And that’s not the job of the superintendent.”
