Idaho’s largest school district will end its membership with the Idaho School Boards Association at the end of the month, citing a tight budget and in-house staff that provide many of the same services.

West Ada School District trustees voted 4-1 on Monday to exit ISBA and not renew its contract for the 2026-27 school year. Trustee Meghan Brown cast the lone vote to continue the district’s membership with the association that provides training, policy services and support to school boards across Idaho.

The departure of Idaho’s largest school district will have a large impact on ISBA, according to Executive Director Misty Swanson, and will impact other school districts in Idaho.

The decision comes a month after trustees in the Kuna School District voted to end their contract with ISBA. West Ada’s vote brings the number of districts in Idaho that do not contract with ISBA to four.

Before the vote, Swanson attempted to sell the trustees on the myriad services and benefits ISBA provides — and offered to lower the annual contract cost from $45,000 to $35,000 — but the four trustees were not sold. ISBA’s budget is about $2 million. Earlier in the meeting, trustees voted without public discussion to give Superintendent Derek Bub a $20,000 annual raise each year for the next three years.

But it’s not just the contract dues from West Ada that ISBA will miss. West Ada sends expert staff members to ISBA events and workshops to share their knowledge.

“I think the impact would be — it would be tough,” Swanson said. “We would get through it, obviously, but it would be tough.”

Trustee David Binetti was the most outspoken trustee in his criticism of ISBA. He grilled Swanson on what services the organization provides and which are included in dues and which have extra costs.

“I care about West Ada,” Binetti said. “That’s my focus.”

Swanson explained that ISBA is the trustees’ advocate at the Statehouse. The group is governed by a 22-member board and has 10 employees. ISBA provides guidance on governance, policy negotiations, insight on emerging issues, board development workshops on ethics, strategic planning, finance and superintendent evaluation.

ISBA has a staff member at the Capitol every day during the legislative session and provided testimony and policy guidance on over 60 pieces of legislation this year.

But not everyone in West Ada is on board with the ISBA’s position on the issues. Swanson reiterated that school district trustees who are also members of ISBA guide the policy positions, not her or her staff.

Bub said no one from West Ada sits on the ISBA government affairs committee, where a lot of these decisions are made.

“I was testifying this year, and the government affairs person got up and testified to a bill that West Ada would have never supported, and so what is our voice on that, and what does that look like?” Bub said.

In an interview after the decision, Board Chair Lori Frasure said the decision to leave ISBA was about money, not policy. While smaller districts may rely on ISBA, West Ada has its own staff with expertise in human resources and finance.

“In fact, we have an in-house attorney, which is their attorney as well, ISBA’s … we have that down the hall,” Frasure said.

Frasure was the vice president of ISBA last year and ran for president, but she lost to Twin Falls Board Chair Eric Smallwood.

“I’m very comfortable with the way things went. It’s just fine,” she told EdNews. “And we’ll continue to help ISBA and help the districts in the state in any way we can.”

Smallwood came up during Monday night’s meeting.

Binetti asked Swanson about Smallwood’s comments in January at a staff meeting in Twin Falls, where he encouraged participation in the May primary election. Binetti mentioned that the state attorney general determined Smallwood’s actions violated the Public Integrity in Elections Act.

Binetti said some people “took umbrage” with Smallwood’s comments, and that they impacted ISBA’s mission of building influence around the state.

“What are we doing to sort of help make sure that your influence maintains at the highest level?” he said.

Swanson said Smallwood was not representing ISBA, and she has advised other members to follow the law.

Sticking to the law was one of her main concerns when hiring a replacement for former ISBA Government Affairs Director Quinn Perry, who recently moved to Washington.

ISBA hired Jason Knopp to replace Perry. Knopp attended Monday night’s meeting, and Swanson mentioned it was his first day working for ISBA.

“As I looked at hiring the next director of advocacy, one thing that was really important to me was a very critical eye, that are we following our policies, our guidelines, our opinions, our help? Does it follow the letter of the law exactly?” Swanson said.

One dissenting vote

Trustee Meghan Brown voted against leaving ISBA.

“My vote was based on projecting a unified proponent of education and advocating for school districts and teachers,” Brown told EdNews after the vote.

She was elected in November and said she was planning on attending the annual ISBA conference in November. She had watched several webinars and found them useful.

“I did appreciate as a member coming in fresh not having any background in the school boards, so I appreciated the webinars, but the other trustees have attended the conferences,” Brown said.

She said ISBA provides strong services for rural districts, and she knows West Ada will continue to advocate for education policy in Boise, no matter what.

“I’m not afraid for the future, and I strongly appreciate ISBA holding up rural districts and giving them top-level knowledge,” Brown said.

Swanson declined an interview request from EdNews after the meeting.