West Bonner school board declines to reconsider decision to hire controversial superintendent at short, crowded meeting

James Hanlon, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
·2 min read
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Jun. 14—PRIEST RIVER, Idaho — The West Bonner school board canceled the only two agenda items at a special meeting Wednesday afternoon, one of which was to rescind the recent selection of a controversial superintendent candidate.

When the meeting adjourned, the large crowd inside the Priest River Junior High auditorium booed. Many waved signs in support of interim superintendent Susan Luckey.

"These are our children!" someone yelled.

Last week, the board voted 3-2 to hire Branden Durst, a controversial political figure and former Republican candidate for state superintendent, instead of Luckey, who has worked for the district since the 1980s as a teacher and elementary principal.

Luckey has served as interim superintendent since March, following the resignation of Jackie Branum.

Some have questioned Durst's qualifications.

Although Durst holds degrees in education and public administration, he has never worked for a school district.

Durst is a senior analyst of education policy research for the Idaho Freedom Foundation, a conservative libertarian think tank. He is also a former Democratic state legislator from Boise.

"Rather than follow in the family footsteps and become an educator, Branden instead wanted to apply his talents in the area of education policy," his Idaho Freedom bio says.

At Wednesday's meeting, trustees Margaret Hall and Carlyn Barton opposed striking the agenda item.

The board tabled approving the superintendent's contract.

After the meeting, the board members promptly exited through a door backstage.

"I am extremely disappointed," said Hailey Scott, a mother of two children in the district. She said many people made special arrangements to leave work to attend the meeting during the middle of the day.

Board Chairman Keith Rutledge declined a request for an interview.

James Hanlon's reporting for The Spokesman-Review is funded in part by Report for America and by members of the Spokane community. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.