A new slate of Idaho Education Association board members took their seats after their election by IEA members earlier this year.
Representing each of IEA’s nine geographic regions and key segments of IEA membership, the new IEA board of directors gathered for their first of four annual meetings Aug. 1-2 at IEA’s headquarters in Boise. Their next meeting is Dec. 2. Their role as board members, according to IEA’s constitution, is to “determine the plans and operational procedures and supervise the administration of this Association,” including the development of a budget, supervising IEA elections, and appointing and supervising the executive director, among other duties.
Only IEA’s Delegate Assembly, the highest governing body of the association that gathers hundreds of IEA members together for an annual business and policy-setting meeting in April, has more authority.
“IEA is a democratic, member-driven, member-governed association,” said IEA President Layne McInelly, who chairs the board. “Elected as representatives of their colleagues and guided by the policies and principles set forward by our Delegate Assembly, the board of directors embodies IEA’s democratic ethos even as they lead our members and the work of this union.”
Each director is elected to a three year term, with the exception of the aspiring educators (students) who serve one-year terms. In addition to 18 board members representing IEA’s geographic regions (two per region), the board includes one at-large member and a representative for the state’s aspiring educators, retired educators and education support professionals. IEA’s vice president, Idaho’s representative on the National Education Association’s Board of Directors and the chairperson of IEA’s Resolutions Committee also have seats on the board.
This year’s board election, held in May, and one special election in September, brought 14 new directors to the board. Here’s the breakdown who started a new term on the board this summer or fall:
- IEA President: Layne McInelly (Boise EA)
- IEA Vice President: Jon Hawkes (Snake River EA)
- NEA Resolutions Committee: Greg Felton (West Ada EA)
- ESP At-Large: LiseAnn Mills (Mountain Home EA)
- Retired Board of Directors: Richard ‘Dick’ Chilcote (South West EA-Retired or SWEA-R)
- Region 1: Kelli Aiken (Lakeland EA)
- Region 2: Lindsey McKinney (Clearwater EA)
- Region 3: Pierrette Madrid (New Plymouth EA)
- Region 4: Wendy Smith (Wendell EA)
- Region 5: Colton Walker (Marsh Valley EA) **
- Region 6: Lisie Smith (Teton EA)
- Region 7: Tabitha Miller (Boise EA)
- Region 8: Alicia Purdy (Vallivue EA)
- Aspiring Educators: Katelyn Dougherty (Lewis-Clark State College)
** Elected in September’s special election