GwenCarol Holmes announces—via email—her intent to step down
By Eric Valentine
In the P.S. section of an email she sent to staff Monday, Blaine County School District Superintendent GwenCarol Holmes announced her intent to step down from her position, June 30, 2021. It comes the day before the trustees of the Blaine County School Board were scheduled to review her contract at their regular monthly meeting.
“So you hear it from me first, I have notified the Board of Trustees that I plan to step down as Superintendent of BCSD as of June 30, 2021,” Holmes stated in her email. “I promise you that for the next 14 months I will be all in as we continue to work together to fulfill the promise to all our students.”
The most publicly vocal group of disgruntled BCSD parents and personnel—on their Facebook page called I-CARE (Idaho Citizens for Accountable, Responsible Education)—went hashtag wild with the news. #GoodRiddance, #DingDong and #Celebrate were used to voice their satisfaction. And a meme that was created by someone in the group expressed their desire to see Holmes exit sooner and their gratitude the school board didn’t fork over any severance pay.
Although criticism of Holmes ran rampant especially the past two years, her tenure was not without significant accomplishment and many parents and staff have stuck behind her. At a recent school board meeting regarding the district’s performance survey, former Hailey Elementary School principal Thad Biggers said, “Under Dr. Holmes’ leadership our school district has made significant progress in improving the education for every child. She inherited many issues that were lingering long before her arrival.”
According to Niche.com, a school ratings organization, BCSD is the second-ranked school district in the state and received an overall A-rating.
“This is an incredible district and the work we are doing together to ensure ALL students achieve at the highest level is extremely important to the continued success of our valley and our country,” Holmes said in her email.