Petition to fire superintendent surpasses 1,000 signatures
By Eric Valentine
With a grassroots petition demanding school board trustees terminate Superintendent GwenCarol Holmes now surpassing its goal of at least 1,000 signatures, summer does not figure to be easygoing at Blaine County School District.
The group of concerned parents, teachers and residents who organized the petition were preparing to present the document to trustees at their regular monthly meeting June 11, after Tuesday’s press deadline. Online signatures reached 1,025 as of Tuesday afternoon. K-12 enrollment across the district is just under 3,500.
Frustration in the district regarding a number of personnel and policy issues climaxed last week when a group called I-Care (Idaho Citizens for Accountable, Responsible Education) held a forum to air their complaints in front of state and county leaders, including Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin. At that session, the effort to petition the school board for the firing of Holmes was announced.
Whether trustees will heed the call of a faction of dissatisfied citizens remains to be seen, but what’s clear is that it will be a litmus test for a number of voters this November when three school board seats are up for re-election. Those seats belong to trustees Kevin Garrison, Ellen Mandeville and Ryan Degn. Board chair Rob Clayton and trustee Kelly Green won’t see their seats expire until 2021.
“We need some adults in the room to come in and clean up this mess,” said Will Gardenswartz, a BCSD parent and a chief organizer of I-Care, which has been rallying against Holmes since last year. “I’m not a candidate, but I know there are grown-ups in town that are considering it.”
The Weekly Sun asked Gardenswartz and another I-Care proponent, Barbara Browning, if any particular candidates were being recruited to run for office. Both remained tight-lipped on specifics, but confirmed that a number of conversations with individuals are ongoing.
“There are several people involved who are trying to find a good, strong candidate,” Browning said. “But I’m not personally involved in the recruiting effort.”
Attempts to contact Garrison and Mandeville to determine if they would be seeking re-election were not returned before press deadline Tuesday. Degn confirmed he would be seeking re-election.
A simple majority vote of the trustees can oust a sitting superintendent, but three trustees are likely to vote in lockstep with the superintendent and one another, Gardenswartz and others in the district believe, given their stances on past issues.
“We’re really just one vote away,” said Gardenswartz.
While district parents and teachers are at odds with district officials over a variety of personnel and policy matters, another lingering dispute involves how money is being spent.
Concerned parents, teachers and residents describe the school district as a top-heavy juggernaut with rising administrative costs and salaries not translating into improved student performance. District officials point to decreased overall spending over the last four years, a $2.5 million reduction two years ago, and the third year in a row with a balanced budget.
“They’re parsing words,” said Browning. “Overall spending may be down but administrative costs are up.”
Browning produced data last week sourced from the school district’s website that showed four six-figure-salary administrative positions had been added to the district since Holmes’ arrival four years ago, while enrollment only grew by 4 percent and overall student performance stagnated. In that same document from Browning, it shows four six-figure-salary administrative positions being added from 2002 to 2007, before Holmes’ tenure. Prior to that, just four such positions existed.