Branden Durst, Superintendent of Public Instruction

ProPublica / Idaho Statesman · April 2024 (archive)

Durst, a former Idaho Freedom Foundation analyst, was appointed West Bonner School District superintendent despite lacking the classroom experience required by the State Board of Education.
The board's decision to hire him and scrap the existing curriculum triggered a community recall that removed two trustees; Durst then resigned.
The case was cited as an example of IFF using a rural district as a test case for dismantling public education in Idaho.

hypocriteherndon.com · 2024 (citizen-compiled public record documentation) (archive)

Photographic documentation shows state Senator Scott Herndon arriving at school board meetings with Durst.
A sitting state senator was actively involved in a local superintendent hiring.

Bonner County Daily Bee · September 2023 (archive)

The community recalled the school board that hired Durst, so he resigned.
An Idaho Supreme Court Justice said the Idaho Freedom Foundation was using the district to dismantle public education.

Sandpoint Reader · May 2023 (archive)

A state senator personally drove Durst to his job interview and spent party money fighting the community recall.
His hiring was described as a test case for dismantling public education in Idaho.

Idaho Capital Sun · August 2022 (archive)

He and Scott Herndon are part of the same Idaho Freedom Foundation network.
That network has documented ties to white supremacists and Christian nationalists.