Durst sues West Bonner over termination

PRIEST RIVER — Branden Durst has officially filed a lawsuit against the West Bonner County School District, alleging he was fired without cause.

The lawsuit alleges both breach of contract and failure by the district to act in good faith. In the alleged breach of contract, Durst is seeking a minimum of $100,000 — the amount he should have received had he been allowed to fulfill his contract, but with the amount to be set at trial. In the alleged breach of good faith, Durst is seeking an amount to be determined at trial.

Court records show Durst filed suit Feb. 29, 2024; however, the court documents were not available until recently.

In their response to the court filings, West Bonner officials disputed Durst's claims, contending they either had no merit or fell outside the statute of limitations.

West Bonner officials asked the court to dismiss the complaint with prejudice and order Durst to pay its costs and attorney fees. They said Durst's contract and a Sept. 25, 2023, letter posted to his account on X, formerly known as Twitter, speak for themselves.

In that letter, Durst said he decided to seek an "amicable and fair exit" from the post he'd held for just under three months at that point.

"Legendary Notre Dame head football coach, Lou Holtz, once said, 'I follow three rules: Do the right thing, do the best you can, and always show people you care,'" Durst wrote in a letter included in the post. "These are the principles I tried to uphold throughout my time as superintendent. To that end and to promote healing and unity within the community, I believe it is necessary for me to step aside as superintendent. It may not be entirely fair, but life rarely is."

That apparent resignation was accepted by the board a month later.

Durst’s controversial selection in late June 2023 to lead the rural school district drew controversy and deeply divided the district. Some applauded Durst's hire, saying major changes were needed to improve academic performance and set the district's schools on a solid foundation. However, others criticized the move, calling it a political vote that made pawns of the community's children. They said Durst lacked the qualifications to run a school district as well as an understanding of the community.

Under the contract, Durst was to be paid $110,000 per year, and the contract would be renewed after an evaluation at the end of each year. In addition, he would receive numerous benefits, including 12 sick days, medical, dental, vision, and retirement benefits,  20 days of paid vacation, and relocation expenses.

Durst was also allowed to take on consulting, speaking, lecturing, and writing engagements, provided they did not conflict with his West Bonner duties.

The contract could be terminated if Durst failed to obtain the appropriate state certification or for cause if the majority of the board found he failed or refused to abide by the overall contract. If the board voted to end his employment, the contract required the board to outline their reasons in a written statement and allow Durst to rebut those reasons within 30 days. 

However, according to the lawsuit, Durst contends that soon after he took the position, certain unspecified members of the board made false claims about him being untruthful.

"Certain members of the board created a hostile work environment for Durst that made Durst's job more difficult and undermined his ability to effectively perform under the [Superindent's] Contract," according to the complaint.

In an attempt to address some of the issues, Durst said he wrote a letter that the board "intentionally misrepresented the nature and purpose of such written correspondence and purported to treat the written correspondence as a letter of resignation."

By doing so, the board attempted to paint the letter as a resignation and effectively terminated his employment with the West Bonner County School District. That action constitutes a breach of the good faith required under a contract, Durst claimed in his complaint.

Durst's decision to step down came in the wake of the State Board of Education's rejection of his application for an emergency provisional administrator’s certificate. It followed months of outcry, raucous board meetings, and the recall of two of the three board members who voted to hire Durst.

At the same time, Durst filed notice he intended to sue the West Bonner district, he filed a $1.25 million tort claim against the Idaho Board of Education and the Idaho Department of Education, saying their decision to deny him emergency certification to serve as the district superintendent resulted in his loss of employment.

According to that claim, Durst is seeking compensatory damages as well as “punitive damages due to professional, emotional, and reputational harm.” 

That claim lawsuit stems from a September 2023 State Board letter rejecting Durst’s application for a superintendent’s emergency provisional certificate to lead West Bonner.

Both the school district and Durst asked the court for a jury trial to decide the matter. No date has been set, according to court records.