Community survey results to be presented Jan. 29, 6 p.m.
By Eric Valentine
“Contentious” is a fair description when it comes to the slew of issues Blaine County School District’s administration and its board of trustees took on in 2019. “Openness” and “Empathy” is the description stakeholders appear to be shooting for in 2020.
Just one month into the new year, with three new trustees sitting on the board, BCSD trustees seem to be hitting all the right notes, allaying concerns from some that trustees were being stronghanded by the district’s superintendent and the district overall was creating an atmosphere of retribution for anyone not towing the company line.
Some of it may be optics. For instance, the trustees now sit at the head table in meetings without district staff. District staff, namely superintendent GwenCarol Holmes, used to sit alongside the trustees at that table. Now, she and other staff sit at a side table toward the front of the room, something typically done at other school districts.
And some of it is yet to be determined. For instance, the lawsuit in federal court brought against the district by two alumni who both claim in separate matters their free speech rights were violated. Enter Will Gardenswartz, a parent in the district who has been advocating for the plaintiffs and has been a lead organizer of the I-CARE (Idaho Citizens for Accountable Responsible Education) group which has been vocal against the district. He spoke during the public comment session at the Jan. 21 meeting, telling the trustees that they should settle the lawsuit and thanking them for creating a new atmosphere in the community.
“Please let the healing begin,” Gardenswartz said. “Settle this suit and send the community a powerful signal that a new day of openness and empathy has begun.”
How Do The Rest Of Us Feel?
Ironically, at the Jan. 21 session, a presentation on the results from a community survey issued by the district late last year was delayed. The district cited privacy concerns for the delay. Specifically, certain comments made by respondents could—at least in theory—be construed as defamatory and put the district at legal risk.
Results of the survey will now be revealed Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 6 p.m. in the Minnie Moore Room at the Community Campus in Hailey. The 20-question survey asked respondents to rate on a scale of 1 to 5 their satisfaction, or lack thereof, with the district’s performance. Certain open-ended questions on issues like facilities, the board and the superintendent were also asked. Roughly 1,700 people completed the questionnaire according to the Idaho School Board Association, the group that issued the poll.
Newly elected trustee and board president Keith Roark addressed concerns that the district was sugarcoating matters—something it had been accused of by stakeholders in the past. And, in an interview before the last regular meeting, the former Hailey mayor was clear about his intent to make the district more open and transparent.
“Those days are over,” Roark said regarding the idea some folks have that the school board was working at the behest of district administrators and not the students, parents and other taxpayers. “I believe six months from now, people won’t be saying that.”
“I’m very pleased where we’re at,” Roark said. “Based upon my first couple of meetings, I’m impressed with the wide variety of backgrounds we all bring to the table. The right framework is there. Now we have to keep our eyes focused on student achievement.”