By Maxford Nelson, Director of Research and Government Affairs at the Freedom Foundation
Returning from their holiday break, teachers in Idaho’s Twin Falls School District were subjected to an all-staff meeting on Jan. 5 at which school board chair Eric Smallwood proclaimed that public education in Idaho was “under attack” and begged the hundreds of teachers in attendance for “your help electing legislators who support public education.”
Smallwood did not name or endorse specific candidates, though a transcript of his remarks shows that he told non-Republicans that they would have “zero say in who represents you at the legislature” unless they switched their voter registration to Republican by March 13 so they could vote in the May GOP primary election.
Although Smallwood insisted, “I’m not telling you who to vote [for] or how to vote,” he also described himself as a “political junkie” who was “really familiar with our candidates [and] our current legislators” and invited educators with “any questions about who supports public education or who doesn’t” to contact him.
Additional investigation by the Freedom Foundation indicates the Idaho Education Association (IEA) played a significant role behind the scenes in orchestrating the captive-audience political call-to-arms, suggesting the union is likely facilitating similar events in districts throughout the state.
The IEA and “May Matters”
Even before the Idaho legislature adjourned in 2025, the IEA was plotting its revenge for the raft of education reforms adopted by the conservative majority.
The teachers union was especially incensed by the passage of a school choice tax credit that would help families afford the cost of educational alternatives to government schools.
Leveling its vitriol at “destructive,” “hardline,” “out of control,” and “power hungry” conservative legislators, the IEA launched its “May Matters” campaign to replace the “infestation of radical lawmakers” it claimed had taken over in Boise.
Its strategy is simple. In heavily Republican Idaho, Democrats have little chance at winning legislative majorities in the general election, so the IEA is recruiting and supporting liberal candidates to run as Republicans against conservative legislators in the typically low-turnout GOP primary election in May.
Part of the IEA’s campaign involves encouraging Democratic and unaffiliated teachers to switch their party registration to Republican so they can vote for union-endorsed liberal Republicans in the primary election.
The fact that the IEA’s strategy aligns neatly with Smallwood’s pleas to Twin Falls educators — which concluded with the exhortation, “May matters. May 19 matters” — is no coincidence.
IEA behind the scenes in Twin
According to public records obtained from the Twin Falls School District, the IEA was closely involved in orchestrating the Jan. 5 event with district leadership as part of its “May Matters” campaign.
Among other things:
- The co-chair of the IEA’s political and government affairs committee communicated and met with Twin Falls SD administrators in December “about the importance of the May Primary.”
- Immediately after this correspondence, the district superintendent emailed teachers to announce an all-staff meeting on January 5 to be held “in conjunction with the TFEA [Twin Falls Education Association, the district affiliate of the IEA].”
- The opening slide of the PowerPoint used at the January 5 meeting listed both the district superintendent and the TFEA co-president.
- Immediately after Smallwood’s remarks at the January 5 meeting, the IEA emailed Twin Falls educators praising Smallwood’s address and appealing to educators to volunteer to assist the IEA’s political efforts in legislative districts 24 and 25.
In sum, it appears that the Jan. 5 captive-audience meeting was a coordinated effort by the IEA and Twin Falls administrators to use the district’s power as the employer to legitimize and boost the union’s concrete political advocacy.
The solution: End taxpayer support for the IEA
Effectively countering bad actors in public education requires taking on entrenched progressive organizations like the IEA who view their mission as circumventing, undermining, challenging, or repealing conservative reforms at every turn.
In Idaho, the IEA benefits from millions of dollars’ worth of taxpayer-funded support provided by school districts around the state.
While ending taxpayer support for the IEA would not fix public education overnight, making the teachers union play by the same rules as every other membership organization or advocacy group would constitute a strategic victory that would yield increasing dividends over time.
Read the full report here: https://www.freedomfoundation.com/education/ieas-may-matters-campaign-roils-twin-falls-school-district/
About Maxford Nelsen
Maxford Nelson is the Director of Research and Government Affairs for the Freedom Foundation. He lives with his wife and sons in Olympia, Washington.
