Four controversies create contentious 2018–2019 school year
By Eric Valentine
School districts across the country have a lot on their plate. They aren’t just responsible for teaching reading, writing and arithmetic anymore. Modern-day schools are tasked with providing safe haven from gun violence, decent food at a low cost, proactive social work, public transit and near-Olympic-style training facilities. Anything less gets scrutinized.
So it’s no surprise that Blaine County School District—like any other—has had to deal with certain challenges during the 2018–2019 school year. But over the last few weeks, there has been a perfect storm of issues, some of which are atypical. What follows is a synopsis of four of these matters school district officials have been managing and the district’s official response to each.
Allegations Against A District Employee
The Issue: A YouTube video of testimony given by a former Wood River High School student at the May 14 school board meeting is making its way across social media. The student alleged that in June 2018 “a current female Wood River High School classified employee” sexually propositioned him and his friend.
The former student said his friend was still a senior at the high school when the alleged incident occurred. The former student outlined a number of claims about the employee’s conduct that night, from intoxication and insulting language to admission of sexual contact with at least one parent of a student. The former student said he made district administration aware of the incident but has never been contacted by any district or law enforcement official.
Meanwhile, Hailey Mayor Fritz Haemmerle is the lawyer representing the former student’s mother, a school district employee, in her civil tort claims against the district. The mother claims that after she made complaints to district officials and asked for an investigation, retaliation occurred. At the school board’s last meeting, the mother’s name was not on a list of administrators recommended for annual contract renewal by Superintendent GwenCarol Holmes and trustees did not offer the student’s mother a new deal.
The District’s Response: This incident has been investigated twice, including by the Supervisor of Student Safety Dave Stellers and no credible evidence was found. The district’s policies protecting both students and employees are very clear. We are confident that our students are safe.
When the district has found issues in the last five years, the district has not hesitated to address personnel matters when student safety is involved. Any violation of the Blaine County School District employee Code of Conduct may be cause for immediate discipline up to and including dismissal of employment.
Freedom Of Speech Lawsuit
The Issue: In early April, a federal civil rights lawsuit was filed against the district and a number of administrators by two students who allege their free speech was violated. For student one, at issue was a survey she conducted on Superintendent GwenCarol Holmes for a government class assignment. The survey was deleted by the school and the student received a “no-grade.” For student two, her report to the school board was redacted by school officials where it mentioned that students wanted the board to reconsider its decision regarding the 2018 graduation date.
Meanwhile, students have reacted to the matter by putting together an online petition “disinviting” Holmes from speaking at the 2019 graduation ceremony. The “disinvite” was not entirely clear whether Holmes was being asked to not attend, not speak at the event, or both.
The District’s Response: The names (of the petitioners) Randall Stevens, Randy Steven, John Petersburgh or Kyle Miller are not names of students registered in the Blaine County School District.
The Superintendent does not speak at graduation. All Board of Trustees and administrators are invited to attend all graduation ceremonies and the Superintendent, Principal, Board Chair and Board Clerk also sign the diplomas for the graduates.
The Threat To Cause Harm
The Issue: Later in April, police had to respond to a threatening letter found in the Wood River Middle School bathroom after normal school hours. Schools were put on high alert throughout the district although none were put on lockdown. After investigating the matter, police determined that there was no serious threat and the students admitted they were just trying to get out of going to school.
Punishment of the students—or lack thereof—had not been disclosed to the public. Officials cited federal law constraints as the reason for remaining tight-lipped. However, the question now becomes how will local schools go about preventing an uptick in pranks without a public-facing deterrent.
The District’s Response: Student safety is our top priority. The district is following procedure and policy for student safety and discipline. In matters involving students, we cannot share personal information about individual cases or specific incidents, as per the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 which is a federal law that protects the privacy of students.
The district also noted that school board trustees were presented with several new and improved protocols by Director of Student Safety Dave Stellers at a recent school board meeting. The improvement includes a smartphone app for reporting inappropriate or dangerous behavior. It will launch at the beginning of next school year.
The Harassment Complaint
The Issue: Also in April, the school board received a letter of resignation from a communications specialist who accused his supervisor of bullying, intimidation, retaliation and harassment. In the letter, the former employee called Superintendent Holmes’s investigation “poorly implemented with no written or recorded notes.”
Whereas the employee was not fired but rather resigned, any sort of wrongful termination lawsuit is off the table. But whether this could factor into any future personnel matters, where for instance an employee is let go, remains to be seen.
The District’s Response: The district is prohibited from commenting on personnel issues. Policies and procedures are in place to ensure a safe work environment for both students and staff. Bullying, intimidation, retaliation and harassment are not tolerated by any staff, student or Board member and the district requires and encourages staff to report this when it occurs.
The district prohibits reprisal or retaliation against any person who reports an act of harassment, intimidation, or bullying; or cooperates in an investigation. A physically and emotionally safe work environment is critical to the district’s mission of student learning. Because of this, the Superintendent asked the district’s attorney to review the investigation.
