13/02/2026
3. Board Professional Development - Attendance at National Conferences
Ms. Gardenour explained the history of the board attending national conferences. She said she’s attended conferences before that have been paid for by ISBA. Gardneour reports back to ISBA board of directors. She said NSBA was the only national school board organization for a long time. NSBA was found to be misusing money and other concerning behaviors. Indiana pulled out of NSBA and has joined COSBA. All Indiana school corporations are members of ISBA; they are no longer an NSBA member. They’ve spent almost $18,000 going to national conferences in 2024 and 2025. Her suggestion is that board members only attend the COSBA conferences moving forward. She said if members attend a conference, they should report back to the rest of the board upon return. She said she thinks they should attend at least 2 ISBA professional seminars/meetings/conferences before attending a national conference.
Mr. Neafus said the district shouldn’t pay for any board member to attend any PD with an organization NAFCS isn’t a member of.
Ms. Gardenour said it should only be one conference per year and board members should be transparent. She asked how they feel about it being mandatory.
Ms. Galligan asked Gardenour if she’d feel the same way if she weren’t on the board of directors for ISBA. She said she’s been on the board for 9 years and has never heard this brought up before. She questioned it being a requirement.
Ms. Gardenour said before, people were only going to one conference per year; now, some are going to more.
Dr. Madison said there are lots of bills that the district leadership needs to keep an eye on. He said the ISBA trainings are timely and help the board stay updated on those changes. He said there is value in national conferences because you can hear from similar districts in other states. He said he doesn’t discourage PD and that they ask teachers and administrators to do it.
Ms. Carruthers is the education liaison. She said board members can attend different conferences based on their different interests and areas of need.
Ms. Wisehart challenged some of Ms. Gardenour’s recollection of what happened with the breakdown of NSBA. She said she felt the discussion was targeting her because she attended 2 national conferences in one year. This was after NSBA made significant changes to address the previous issues. She said she’d sought board approval to attend both conferences the year she did.
Ms. Gardenour said NAFCS is a member of COSBA. They are also members of ISBA. They are no longer members of NSBA.
Ms. Wisehart said board members should be free to attend whatever conference/PD they want. She questioned an individual board member dictating where other board members go for PD. She said they get quality resources from ISBA all year long, and each member can share information they get from their various PD opportunities. She said it isn’t appropriate to push ISBA on local board members.
Ms. Carruthers asked to share resources on the various conferences they can attend.
Ms. Gardenour said ISBA is the only organization that offers school board professional development in Indiana.
Ms. Galligan said everyone should be allowed to serve in the way that allows them to maximize their potential, and they shouldn’t dictate what anyone does.
Ms. Gardenour questioned the $18,000 spent in two years and encouraged them to be fiscally responsible.
Mr. Neafus said his only objection is NSBA. Ms. Stumler-Northup agreed and said they should stick with COSBA.
Ms. Galligan emphasized not dictating where they attend.
Ms. Gardenour said it is more expensive to attend NSBA now that NAFCS is no longer a member.
Ms. Wisehart said there is $20,000 in the budget for board travel.
Ms. Wisehart emphasized that NSBA has changed in a positive way since their previous discussions when they cut ties. She said they’ve apologized publicly.
Ms. Gardenour asked how Ms. Wisehart was “intimately involved” with NSBA.
Ms. Wisehart said she was asked to be on the interview committee with the individual who was hired to be the next NSBA leader.
Ms. Gardenour said she was unaware of this information.
Ms. Galligan suggested this be brought up at the board retreat.
Ms. Gardenour made a motion not to send any board members to any NSBA national conferences. Ms. Gardenour seconded.
Ms. Wisehart responded that she’s already booked some of the travel arrangements.
Mr. Neafus said all of her money would be refunded except $175.
Called for vote to restrict NSBA conference.
Vote passes 4-3
Yes - Neafus, Baugh, Northup, Gardenour
No- Carruthers, Galligan, Wisehart
Ms. Wisehart said she found the vote to be “disrespectful” and that it is an intentional “personal attack.”
Ms. Gardenour said she is being fiscally responsible for the taxpayers.
