Timing of Freund resignation draws fire from school critic
BY TERRY SMITH
Blaine County School District former Trustee Carole Freund cited health reasons for resigning from the school board on June 15, the day after she voted with a 3-2 majority to approve a controversial $53.6 million operations budget for the coming school year.
Freund’s resignation drew immediate criticism from Ketchum resident Jeremy Fryberger, a founder of the community organization BCSD Accountability, sometimes referred to as “The Coalition,” which has recently criticized district administration and numerous school board decisions. In an email sent to The Weekly Sun on June 16, Fryberger called Freund’s resignation the day after the budget was approved “entirely unethical.”
Fryberger’s criticism of Freund was quickly followed by criticism of him by district patron Lara Stone.
“I would counter that leaving the district with a 2-2 board and no budget would have been unethical,” Stone wrote in a June 16 email to The Sun.
Contention on a new operations budget has been brewing since May, when Trustees Elizabeth Corker and Cami Bustos introduced an alternative budget proposal disagreeing with the original proposed budget in how to cut $1.3 million for operations for Fiscal Year 2017, which starts on July 1. Basically, Corker and Bustos argued that the district should retain its Latino and special services parent liaison positions and instead eliminate the district Communications Department and cut salaries and benefits of district administrators.
Prior to the budget vote on June 14, district Superintendent GwenCarol Holmes and Business Manager Mike Chatterton prepared what was intended as a compromise budget that restored the Latino liaison post and provided for a half-time parent liaison and made minor cuts instead to the Communications Department, eliminated some equipment purchases and took money from carryover funds.
Ultimately, the Holmes and Chatterton compromise proposal was approved by the board, but it apparently didn’t go far enough in satisfying Corker and Bustos, who wanted the Communications Department eliminated altogether.
When the budget vote was taken, Corker and Bustos voted no, while the measure was supported by Freund, Board Chair Shawn Bennion and Trustee Rob Clayton.
Freund informed the district of her resignation in a letter submitted the morning of June 15.
“It is with deep regret that I announce my resignation from the Blaine County School District Board of Trustees,” Freund wrote. “The health issues I am currently experiencing make it impossible for me to continue in this stressful position. My physician feels that continuing in this volunteer role is detrimental to my health.
“I apologize for the inconvenience this will cause the district and the board of trustees, but at this point, I need to focus on regaining my health.”
In his email to The Sun, Fryberger wished Freund a “quick and full recovery,” but criticized her anyway for the timing of her resignation, claiming that district officials were aware of her pending resignation prior to June 15.
“Therefore, her vote at Tuesday’s budget hearing should be immediately disqualified,” Fryberger stated. “To vote on such an important district issue on the eve of her planned resignation is entirely unethical.
“The ethical choice would have been for Freund to resign prior to Tuesday’s hearing,” Fryberger stated. “If that had led to a 2-2 tie on the budget vote, the tied parties would have simply hammered out a budget that could get three votes.”
Freund responded to Fryberger’s criticism in an email sent to The Sun on June 17.
“My actions and vote on Tuesday night were entirely legal, and in my opinion, ethical as well,” Freund stated. “Mr. Fryberger has accused me of many things during my tenure as a trustee, including being corrupt and unethical. Up to this point, I had never in my life been accused of being unethical and corrupt.
“During my term, I invested a great deal of time, thought and consideration into absorbing all the information and opinions I received. I allowed them to coalesce, and made my decisions accordingly.
“Mr. Fryberger and his Coalition represent, and strongly communicate, one side to each issue,” Freund stated. “Because I did not agree with his stances and did not vote accordingly, I was subjected to his and his Coalition’s constant, and very public, lambasting and derision.
“My illness has been exacerbated by the toxic environment and false accusations that have been made by the Coalition against me, fellow board members and employees of the district. It is my opinion that these few people who call themselves ‘The Coalition’ are inflicting extremely detrimental consequences on our public schools and community.”
Freund had served on the school board since July of 2015, representing Zone 3, which encompasses northwest Hailey and rural areas immediately to the west.
She filed for election that year to replace former Trustee Kathryn Graves, who did not seek reelection. Since Freund was the only applicant for the post, an election was not required and she was automatically the winner.
The school board is expected to declare a vacancy in Zone 3 at its next regular meeting on July 12, officially initiating the process of finding a replacement.