Parents Speak Out Against Possible Cut To Ketchum Program
BY Mark Dee
As the Blaine County School District wrestles with an estimated $3.85 million budget shortfall, a slew of valley parents are sounding off on one cut they won’t abide: eliminating the Hemingway STEAM middle school in Ketchum. Seventy-one parents sent written comments to the school board supporting the program prior to the trustees’ Aug. 12 meeting. No comments backed cutting the North Valley middle school, which expanded out of the longstanding elementary school in 2017.
“For families in Ketchum and the surrounding areas, having a middle school option within reasonable proximity is not a luxury—it’s a necessity,” wrote East Fork residents Courtney and Jed Conklin in one comment. “The alternative of busing students long distances each day is not only burdensome, but inequitable, particularly for working families or those without the means to supplement transportation. Removing this option would effectively limit access to a high-quality education for many students in our community.”
Across all grades, Hemingway has seen enrollment decline each year since 2021. Enrollment stood at 433 students last spring, down from 514 four years prior, according to the State Department of Education’s Idaho Report Card. (The district has generally seen enrollment decline during this period as larger outgoing classes are replaced by smaller incoming ones.)
The state’s Idaho Report Card does not split Hemingway’s middle school from its elementary school when reporting standardized testing data. Kindergarten through eighth grade, though, Hemingway students performed better on recent reading and math exams than the district at large, but, like most schools across Idaho, still pass at a rate below the state’s benchmark for public schools.
“When a community invests in its middle school, it invests in its future—nurturing not only capable learners, but also resilient, connected citizens,” wrote Colleen Gilligan of Sun Valley. “The middle school has proven its academic achievement through standardized test scores. And Hemingway is a proven pillar of the community.”
In response to the comments, School Board Chair Lara Stone said that the board has “approached this conversation with caution,” reiterating that no decision has been made on Hemingway’s future.
“We’ve prioritized other reductions and revenue strategies first,” she said. “Unfortunately, public school funding in Idaho continues to trend in the wrong direction.”
Cutting the program, which Stone said was pitched as a “cost neutral” middle school option at a time when Wood River Middle School was at capacity, would save the district around $1 million annually. While Stone praised the school and its staff, “a second middle school site requires a level of investment that I worry is no longer feasible,” she said. “With declining birth rates and smaller class sizes, WRMS now has the capacity to accommodate all middle school students.”
The school board on Aug. 14 voted 3-0 to put a two-year supplemental levy worth $3.85 million annually before voters on the November ballot, a figure trustees say should patch the budget for now. That vote, along with clarity around possible state funding cuts, will play a large role in Hemingway’s future as a middle school. Stone said the board would be “prudent” to wait for that information, meaning any action on middle school consolidation would likely pop up in December.
“I have had several meetings with Hemingway stakeholders and tried to communicate the necessary steps required in a process of getting our budget back into balance,” Trustee Dan Turner said in a statement to Wood River Weekly. “These steps will be ongoing, but careful consideration will be taken to ensure student achievement remains our North Star.
“Passing the November levy will give the districts more options in the near term.”
