Idaho school district chose a far-right figure as superintendent. How did it get here?

A few years ago, West Bonner County School District in North Idaho was just another small-town school district, and Priest River was just “a sleepy little town,” lifelong resident Hailey Scott told the Idaho Statesman.

But bit by bit, controversy grew. In recent months, the district has become the center of a statewide education spectacle, with heated board meetings, a controversial superintendent pick and a recall of the school board’s top trustees — Chair Keith Rutledge and Vice Chair Susan Brown — who helped appoint him. Scott said she even pulled her elementary school-age children out of the district after Branden Durst was selected as superintendent, opting instead for online schooling.

What caused such a dramatic shift? Community members told the Statesman they got complacent when it came to the district, and they believe far-right candidates took advantage, bolstered by a political think tank, the Idaho Freedom Foundation.

“This has been years in the making,” said Dana Douglas, one of the coordinators of the trustee recall effort, in an interview with the Statesman.

Douglas said she thinks public school opponents “thought we fell asleep.”

“And honestly, we did, so they felt like, ‘We could get a stronghold in here,’ ” she said.

Close elections seated recalled trustees

Two years ago, a friend told Scott she would be a good fit for a vacancy on the school district’s board of trustees. A mom of three and day care provider, she was familiar with the district and had a vested interest in local kids.

Scott, who describes herself as a decidedly nonpolitical person, agreed to run for the nonpartisan office.

Her opponent was Keith Rutledge, who told the Idaho Freedom Foundation in a candidate survey that he believes the role of education is “to teach kids how to be lifelong learners and not indoctrinate them with leftist ideas.”

Scott said she first realized the position wasn’t exactly neutral at a candidate forum. She told the Statesman when she answered a question indicating she supports social-emotional learning — a curriculum that focuses on social skills alongside academic development — she was booed.

Ahead of Election Day in November 2021, Rutledge’s campaign noted that he had the backing of the Bonner County Republican Central Committee — led by far-right legislator Scott Herndon — and a group called Idaho True Conservatives.

At the polls, Scott and Rutledge were neck-and-neck. Their election came down to a seven-vote difference, with Rutledge pulling ahead, 244 to 237. At the same time, Brown won her race with 176 votes. Her competitors, Mark Caldwell and Lonnie Orr, split the remaining 173 votes.

Scott, Douglas and Orr told the Statesman they think low voter turnout helped Rutledge and Brown, who were recalled by voters last month, win their seats. Rutledge and Brown did not respond to requests for comment.

“I had people tell me they would’ve voted for me but didn’t because they knew I ‘had it in the bag,’ ” Scott told the Statesman.

Curriculum, levy votes sparked recall

As board members, Rutledge and Brown faced some critical tasks: replacing an outgoing superintendent, trying to fix longtime financial issues and addressing the district’s low scores in academic achievement. The first year of their four-year terms was fairly quiet, but by August 2022, parents like Paul and Jessica Turco, Scott and other community members became concerned about their decisions.

Jessica Turco told the Statesman she was part of a committee that recommended a new curriculum to the board in June 2022. The group suggested purchasing programs from educational publishing giant McGraw-Hill. IdahoEdNews reported that the curriculum was adopted unanimously by the board, only to be dumped two months later over concerns about its inclusion of social-emotional learning.

Jessica Turco said the district lost thousands of dollars in the last-minute switch. The board adopted a new curriculum this summer — one crafted by conservative Hillsdale College, an institution at the center of upheavals over concepts like critical race theory.

Things heated up even more this year when West Bonner County School District proposed a supplemental levy to help fund teacher salaries, textbook purchases, athletic programs and extracurriculars. Critics of Rutledge and Brown said the two refused to support the levy publicly. In May, it failed by just over 100 votes.

The same month, community members formalized the recall effort against the two trustees. The effort began just weeks before what would become the biggest controversy yet: the board’s appointment of former Idaho Freedom Foundation analyst Branden Durst as the district superintendent.

In June, Brown, Rutledge and trustee Troy Reinbold voted to appoint Durst, who last year lost a bid for the state superintendent of public instruction position. The decision drew intense criticism, with opponents pointing to Durst’s and the Idaho Freedom Foundation’s history of promoting school choice vouchers, which would direct taxpayer money to private schools. The Freedom Foundation has been a vocal critic of public schools around the state, with President Wayne Hoffman in 2019 expressing his desire to do away with public schools — which he called “the most virulent form of socialism” — altogether.

Not only did Durst’s proposed contract — which initially called for a housing stipend, district-provided vehicle and free meals at district schools — raise eyebrows, but his appointment also violated Idaho law that required certain credentials to be a superintendent. Durst has never been employed full time as a certified school employee, and according to his former campaign website, his only teaching experience is as a tutor for the Boys & Girls Club and as an adjunct instructor for the College of Western Idaho. He was selected over longtime district employee Susie Luckey, who had served as interim superintendent.

In subsequent meetings, Rutledge and Brown were accused of open meeting violations. Proponents of the recall also criticized Rutledge, Brown and Reinbold’s votes in favor of retaining outside legal counsel for the board at a late June meeting.

How does Idaho Freedom Foundation fit in?

Douglas, Scott and the Turcos told the Statesman they felt their community was targeted for a political takeover because of its low voter turnout and deeply conservative roots.

“Our area became complacent,” Jessica Turco said. “We trusted who was sitting in those (local) seats for many, many years. Everybody thought, ‘My neighbor is going to show up and vote, so I don’t have to.’ ”

Douglas, one of the leaders of the recall, said that on Election Day for the recall, some voters were given printed lists titled “Conservative Voter News Sources.” It included the Bonner County Republican Central Committee’s website, the Idaho True Conservatives website, far-right website Idaho Tribune and the Idaho Freedom Foundation’s website. Douglas wasn’t able to identify the individuals who passed out the lists, but Orr said he encountered the same people. He identified them only as part of the “no group” who opposed the recall.

Orr said he also received flyers in the mail encouraging voters to oppose the recall. He said the flyers accused recall supporters of being “woke,” a term adopted by the political right to describe left-wing ideals. It wasn’t immediately clear who created or sent the flyers.

Scott said backers of Rutledge and Brown represent “the extreme right of the Republican Party.” She and the Turcos noted that recall opponents frequently invoked the idea that recall supporters weren’t conservative.

“Those people that are being called woke and leftist and liberal, they’re not liberal by any means and they don’t know what woke means,” Scott said.

Paul Turco said he believes the ousted trustees and their backers had hoped to stay in power long enough to bankrupt the district in favor of private education.

But despite community members’ claims, it’s unclear whether the far-right push was an orchestrated effort — and if so, by whom.

Each of the residents the Idaho Statesman spoke to said they believed the Idaho Freedom Foundation had a hand in the events that led to Rutledge and Brown’s elections, the curriculum decision, the levy failure and, most notably, Durst’s appointment. Former Idaho Supreme Court Justice Jim Jones said in an IdahoEdNews opinion piece that the organization backed the former trustees.

Any such ties are hard to prove. Asked about its involvement with the district, the Idaho Freedom Foundation in an email told the Statesman it stands by its longtime policy of not speaking to news outlets. Durst did not respond to questions about claims that the Freedom Foundation played a role in his superintendent appointment.

“We are focused on doing things school districts are supposed to do: educating children and being good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” Durst said in an emailed statement. “We are committed to improving academic achievement and demonstrating our commitment to conservative fiscal practices.”

The Freedom Foundation, which has an index by which it scores education legislation, has not publicly commented on the West Bonner curriculum, levy or recall. The organization in a tweet said it was “excited to watch (Durst) implement pro-family education policies up in North Idaho” shortly after his appointment.

The only mention of Rutledge or Brown on the site appears to be a campaign questionnaire Rutledge filled out in 2021 in which he decried “indoctrination,” social-emotional learning and other issues in line with the Freedom Foundation’s views.

Rutledge has shared articles from far-right news sources like Idaho Tribune and Redoubt News on his Facebook page in recent weeks, including one that alleged sexual misconduct in the West Bonner School District. The Tribune has been connected to far-right vlogger Vincent James, a self-proclaimed “Christian nationalist” who has spoken at white nationalist conferences and said he plans to take over the Idaho Republican Party.

“A group we keep hearing about is the Idaho Freedom Foundation,” Scott told the Statesman. “And it’s very hard to think they’re not involved.”

Even after the recall election, Durst and the ousted trustees hoped to claw back some control. A last-minute meeting days after the recall included agenda items such as dissolving the board and considering legal action against the Idaho State Board of Education, which had set a late August deadline for Durst to apply for the certification required by state law.

Douglas and Peggylee Smith applied for a restraining order that ultimately quashed the proposed meeting.

In a letter to the West Bonner County School District last week, State Board of Education Executive Director Matt Freeman said the agency lacks the legal authority to grant Durst his certification, IdahoEdNews reported. “There is no pathway,” he said, for Durst to acquire the credential he needs to serve as superintendent.

West Bonner parent wants ‘stronger’ leadership

The results of the recall election were finalized the first week of September, but community members said they feel there’s still work to be done. The Bonner County Daily Bee reported that candidates have already begun filing for trustee races.

Reinbold, who frequently aligned with Brown and Rutledge to form a majority vote, is running for reelection. Douglas said the organizers of last month’s recall have no plans to try to recall Reinbold, who she said appeared to follow the lead of the ousted trustees. Reinbold did not respond to a request for comment from the Statesman.

Paul Turco told the Statesman he intends to run for one of the vacant trustee seats.

“Sometimes in life you’re put up against things that you feel are your responsibility,” he said.

The community has rallied like never before, Turco added, and he’s optimistic the momentum could make West Bonner School District the best version of itself. That would mean keeping meetings in compliance with state law and addressing the district’s financial woes, he said.

Scott said she’s waiting to see who is elected in November before she considers reenrolling her kids in the district.

“I want to see a stronger and more conducive leadership in the district office,” she said. “That’s a PG way of saying I want Branden Durst to leave.”