Patrons question board access, budget cuts, administrator benefits
BY JEAN JAcQUES BOHL
Numerous concerns from patrons of the Blaine County School District were publicly aired to school Trustee Rob Clayton at a town hall meeting he conducted June 2 in the library at Hemingway Elementary School in Ketchum
Some 30 people attended in what Clayton advertised as a “community conversation”. Also present were district Superintendent GwenCarol Holmes and district Business Manager Mike Chatterton, ostensibly there to provide points of clarification.
The discussions were heated at times. Andrew Parnes, a Ketchum attorney, set the tone of the meeting by asking why his emails were not answered by Clayton and added that “we want to have access to our elected officials.”
Clayton answered that he reads all his emails.
Hailey resident Pamela Plowman said she also wished that the board be more responsive and declared that she felt that presenting to the board was “like presenting to a tribunal.”
Longtime Ketchum resident Tom Lampl voiced a concern about the fact that teachers did not receive a pay raise as the result of the teachers’ union contract negotiations this spring.
“We are all in this together,” Lampl said. “Why do administrators get pay raises when the teachers receive none? Morale is low. The culture comes from the top. What are your plans?”
Parnes went on to mention what he called “the elephant in the room, the benefits for administrators,” that are in excess to benefits available to teachers.
“You are balancing the budget on the backs of the low-on-the-totem-pole,” Parnes said.
Clayton replied that the board will look at the topics of benefits for administrators, as well as a possible revised schedule this fall.
There were numerous comments regarding a proposed $1.3 million cut in the 2016-17 school year budget. The elimination of the Latino and Special Services Parent Liaison is very controversial with some patrons.
Parnes suggested that the board “compromises.”
”You might not get the $1.3 million this year,” Parnes said.
Clayton asserted that the driving rationale was to maintain the existing student/teacher ratio.
Ketchum resident Jeremy Fryberger raised the issue of the board’s rapport with the public.
“The public has lost control of the policy narrative,” Fryberger said. “We must return the narrative to the public. We need an open public process. We must return to a collective decision-making. The board sets the culture for the district.”
Lampl reminded Clayton that the “the administration reports to the board. You are the watchdog. The administration sees policy as its domain.”
Clayton replied that “public meetings are a step in the right direction.”
There were also several comments from the audience mentioning that often employees are reluctant to go on record or attend meetings for fear of negative impact on their careers. Because of that, some employees feel that they do not have a voice with the school board or administration.
Even though the discussion was heated at times, the consensus among participants was that meetings like that are productive and should be continued.
The full school board’s next regular meeting is set for Tuesday, June 14, when the proposed budget for the coming school year will be considered for possible approval.