Trustees disagree on continued funding for Communications Department
BY TERRY SMITH
Controversial in its founding six years ago, the Blaine County School District’s Communications Department has become controversial once again as members of the district board of trustees disagree on whether to continue funding for the program.
The controversy erupts at a time when the school board is trying to shave $1.3 million from its operating budget for Fiscal Year 2017, which starts on July 1. A decision on the budget, per Idaho State Department of Education requirements, is due this month, possibly as soon as the board’s next regular meeting on June 14.
At stake for the budget is about $200,000 directed toward the Communications Department, which is comprised of Heather Crocker as director and Kelly Martin as her communications specialist assistant. Crocker has served as director since shortly after the department was approved for establishment by the school board in late 2010.
Funding for the Communications Department was listed in a FY2017 tentative budget that was approved by the board earlier this spring for publication as required by law.
However, since then Trustees Elizabeth Corker and Cami Bustos have proposed an alternative budget that eliminates the Communications Department and instead retains funding for the district’s parent and Hispanic liaison positions and for International Baccalaureate, a high school and middle school program, which is intended to prepare students for an international community and marketplace.
Critics of the Communications Department have claimed that the district’s website, currently maintained by the Communications Department, can be handled instead by the district Technology Department and that internal and external communications could be handled by other administrative staff.
Public criticism of the Communications Department has also claimed that the department all too often functions as a public relations bureau to support and maintain a positive reputation for district Superintendent GwenCarol Holmes, whose performance has also been subjected to some public criticism over the past several months.
The same arguments against the Communications Department were heard in late 2010, when the school board, at the request of former Superintendent Lonnie Barber, voted by a 3-2 margin to establish a Communications Department and hire a communications director.
Barber pointed out then that establishment of a communications function was the top recommendation from a recently completed audit on district communications conducted by the National School Public Relations Association. He said the audit pointed out that the district needed to communicate better with both its employees and the public and that hiring a specialist to focus on communications would better serve the district.
Voting against establishment of a Communications Department in 2010 were former Trustees Paul Bates and Kathryn Graves. However, both Bates and Graves later changed their opinions on the matter and spoke in support of Crocker and the Communications Department.
In 2013, the school board, then chaired by Bates, reviewed the Communications Department functions and concluded that the function was of value to the district.
“After reviewing the goals of the communications audit and what the communications director has accomplished, the trustees agreed that it is a valuable position for the district,” Bates said then, quoting from a prepared statement. “A few examples of recent accomplishments include outreach during the Dual-Immersion magnet school decision, expansion of information on the district website, surveys to the community and employees to assist in decision making and the electronic newsletter to the community and staff.”
More recently, community survey results have shown that the public relies primarily on the district website and its publications, functions performed by the Communications Department, for information about the district. Prior to establishment of a Communications Department, community surveys showed that the public relied primarily on the news media for information about the district.
The Communications Department on the district website explains its purposes as to provide “information to a variety of stakeholders, including students, staff, families and community members. The department strives to communicate accurate and timely news about schools, programs, achievements of students and staff, opportunities for input, decisions, district policies, and programs.
“All communication supports the BCSD Strategic Plan. Informed stakeholders are critical to the continued success of the district and overall success of students, as well as the fulfillment of the BCSD Strategic Plan.”
In an email sent Tuesday to The Weekly Sun, Crocker described the Communications Department as “two people and a modest budget for marketing.”
“The small but vocal group who don’t want communications are regular readers of the BCSD Weekly Update, visitors to the website and also request support of communications to publicize meetings,” advertise vacancies, provide video support to meetings, and write and distribute press releases and school board meeting briefs.
“The amount of work on teachers’ and administrators’ plates is documented and should be considered when patrons say that communications can be added to the tech department or to the superintendent job,” Crocker stated.
“Times have changed,” Crocker stated. “Parents and the public expect immediate up-to-date information.”
Crocker, who each year presents a communications workshop for school superintendents and principals from throughout Idaho, stated in her email that 10 out of 12 of the largest school districts in Idaho have communications professionals on staff.
“All those principals and superintendents who don’t have communications wish they had it and they say it simply doesn’t get done without a dedicated person,” Crocker stated.