Packed Lakeland school board meeting draws resignation demand from 84 signers

A standing-room-only crowd filled Lakeland Joint School District’s administrative offices in Rathdrum on April 15 as former employees and longtime patrons pressed the board to resign over its handling of Superintendent Rusty Taylor. The sharpest rebuke came from an 84-signature letter, read in shortened form by former Lakeland teacher Allison Knoll, that said recent board actions had damaged trust and raised doubts about the trustees’ judgment.

The letter drew backing from former superintendents, board trustees and community members who have watched the conflict deepen for months. Their criticism centered on the board’s March 24 decision to place Taylor on paid administrative leave, even though the district later said the move came on advice of legal counsel and, as Knoll told trustees, the board had said there was no misconduct, no breach of contract and no egregious behavior. Signers argued that the issue went beyond one personnel decision and reflected a pattern of leadership decisions driven by personality conflicts instead of policy or performance.

Taylor, hired in June 2025 and starting July 1, 2025, was placed on leave for the remainder of his two-year contract. At $156,000 a year, that leaves more than $200,000 in remaining compensation, a figure that has sharpened questions about the cost of the dispute as the district moves into a period of uncertainty.

The board meeting unfolded against a broader fight over who controls district direction. Lakeland trustees have also been weighing a proposed policy change that would tighten board control over future superintendents, while current Policy 1410 on superintendent-board relations dates to Aug. 13, 2007 and has no reported revisions. The district’s leadership page now lists Jake Massey as interim superintendent.

The current board roster includes Chair Michelle Thompson, Vice Chair Ramona Grissom and trustees David Quimby, Jeffrey Brodhead and Randi Bain. For Lakeland Joint School District 272, which serves six K-5 schools in North Idaho, the clash reaches beyond one administrator’s leave. It now sits at the center of a deeper question about whether trustees and the community still share the same vision for the schools.