Senate committee advances temporary exception allowing spouses of trustees to hold contracts in very small Idaho school districts

BOISE — The Senate Education Committee on Tuesday voted to send Senate Bill 1045 to the Senate floor with a "do pass" recommendation after a presentation from the Idaho School Boards Association and testimony from a rural school board trustee.

The bill would amend Idaho Code section 33-507 to allow an exception in districts with a fall enrollment of 400 students or fewer so that a school trustee's spouse who is employed as a teacher or pupil service staff member may be placed on a category 2 contract rather than the current category 1 contract the statute effectively requires in these conflict situations. The change would not apply to administrator positions, and the bill includes a sunset date of June 30, 2030.

Quinn Perry, deputy director of the Idaho School Boards Association, told the committee the proposed change narrowily targets very small districts and preserves multiple abstention requirements for the trustee. "The trustee in question could not be…