Responding to some strident public criticism, Trustee Rob Clayton took a stab at revamping the makeup of the school board’s three advisory committees to tip the balance toward public input—and away from the administration—during the group’s regular August meeting last week.
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With its current class charging through high school, the “I Have a Dream” Foundation—Idaho is doubling down, pledging to sponsor post-graduate education for another class of kids within two years.
Blaine County’s free summer food program reached a record number of kids this season, topping last year’s total by nearly 25 percent.
A week before Blaine County schools opened for the year, the district got a mixed report card in a new State Department of Education accountability metric, which ranks 652 schools in Idaho on a weighted formula of academic and school quality indicators.
With a week to go before public school starts, the Blaine County School District received a report card of its own on Tuesday, when staff presented the school board with the latest breakdown of 2019 results from the Idaho Standards Achievement Test, or ISAT.
In a split vote Tuesday night, the Blaine County School District’s board of trustees ordered staff to develop a new communications plan to reach constituents, acknowledging mounting stress from critics over the past several months.
While Blaine County students soaked up the last week of summer break, their teachers were already in class Tuesday morning, receiving marching orders—and a touch of motivation—before the academic year begins in earnest on Aug. 19.
The first new face to throw in for a school board seat appeared last week when Bellevue resident Alexis Lindberg launched her campaign for the south county’s Zone 1 spot in this November’s election.
The Blaine County School District’s Finance Committee continued to whittle down its wish list of projects Tuesday as it moves closer to making a recommendation to the school board likely endorsing a new levy to pay for facilities.
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School board Trustee Rob Clayton served notice of his intent to sue the district he helps lead last Thursday, alleging slander against the Blaine County School District—specifically its superintendent, GwenCarol Holmes.
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An attorney for the Blaine County School District has advised trustees against granting a special school board meeting sought by critics of the district to hold a vote evaluating the performance of Superintendent GwenCarol Holmes, according to Chairwoman Ellen Mandeville.
Longtime administrator Debi Gutknecht retired from the Blaine County School District this year, but not before adding one more award to her professional mantle.
As Blaine County School District policies come under increasing public scrutiny, the school board is revamping the way it makes them.
The Blaine County School District spent around $43,000 on legal fees last school year, bringing its four-year total to just over $250,000, split among nine firms, according to an accounting by staff requested by Trustee Rob Clayton.
SAT scores across the Blaine County School District dipped to a four-year low in 2019, while a gap in proficiency between the white and Hispanic students grew, according to a preliminary analysis by district staff presented to the school board Tuesday night.
A replacement building for Hailey Elementary School highlights the wish list for the Blaine County School District’s Finance Committee as it works through its charge of identifying potential infrastructure projects in advance of the district’s expected pitch for a new plant facilities levy s…
To beep or not to beep. That was the question posed to the Hailey Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday regarding whether school buses at Wood River High School should be required to use reverse-gear alarms at all times.
Blaine County students once again beat state averages in standardized testing this year, but the grade-by-grade gap between white and Hispanic students remained higher, too.
Members of the Blaine County School District’s administration are standing by its embattled grievance policy, which has seen increased use—and public scrutiny—in 2019.
The Sun Valley Institute’s annual conference often aims at global issues and international guests—but this year it’s giving local youth a chance to take on topics that matter to them.
A February survey by the Blaine County Education Association shows cratering teacher morale—and a harsh counterpoint to the School District’s standing positive line on staff engagement.
As it evolved over centuries, the English language has boasted a seemingly bottomless appetite for swallowing up other languages’ words and spitting out its own versions.
SAT scores across the Blaine County School District dipped to a four-year low in 2019, but remained narrowly ahead of state averages as Idaho saw an even starker drop, according to data released Monday by the State Department of Education from its free SAT School Day this spring.
The organizer of a petition seeking the evaluation of Blaine County School District Superintendent GwenCarol Holmes has walked back her request for a special meeting with the board of trustees as opponents of district leadership explore alternatives for airing grievances against the administration.
After a spring marked by high-profile complaints from district employees, the Blaine County school board has decided to rewrite the process by which staff can lodge grievances under district policy—including against the superintendent.
As it evolved over centuries, the English language has boasted a seemingly bottomless appetite for swallowing up other languages’ words and spitting out its own versions.
SAT scores across the Blaine County School District dipped to a four-year low in 2019, but remained narrowly ahead of state averages as Idaho saw an even starker drop, according to data released Monday by the State Department of Education from its free SAT School Day this spring.
The organizer of a petition seeking the evaluation of Blaine County School District Superintendent GwenCarol Holmes has walked back her request for a special meeting with the board of trustees as opponents of district leadership explore alternatives for airing grievances against the administration.
After a spring marked by high-profile complaints from district employees, the Blaine County school board has decided to rewrite the process by which staff can lodge grievances under district policy—including against the superintendent.
The Blaine County School District’s board of trustees stripped sitting Chairman Rob Clayton of his title and censured the former top trustee for “several” unspecified ethics violations following an extended closed session Tuesday night.
Backed by more than 1,000 online signatures, a local resident requested a closed meeting with the school board to make a case for firing Superintendent GwenCarol Holmes during the public comment period of Tuesday night’s regular meeting of the Blaine County School District’s board of trustees.
The Blaine County School District’s board of trustees approved its budget for the 2019-20 school year by a 4-1 vote Tuesday, capping a six-month process to draft the $63.3 million general fund spending plan.
The Blaine County School District’s board of trustees stripped sitting Chairman Rob Clayton of his title and censured the former top trustee for “multiple” unspecified ethics violations following an extended closed session Tuesday night.
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Before the hugs and the handshakes, before Vice Principal Rob Ditch read the names, and before Principal Fritz Peters sent the eighth-grade class of Wood River Middle School into summer with one more pat on the back and encouraging words, Diesel Ward became a “speech speaker.”
Top Trustee Rob Clayton apologized for “a poor job of leadership” as parents, teachers and taxpayers ripped the upper levels of the Blaine County School District during a town hall meeting Monday night near Hailey.
Eighteen employees of the Blaine County School District plan to retire at the school year’s end, taking with them some 370 years of combined experience when they go.
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Nineteen Carey School seniors became Carey School alumni on Friday, as the class of 2019 officially graduated from the Blaine County School District. On Thursday, they’ll be joined by many more, as their peers at Wood River and Silver Creek high schools will move their tassels and collect di…
A discussion on relocating a pair of portable classrooms to accommodate next year’s inaugural eighth-grade class at the Ernest Hemingway STEAM School in Ketchum dredged up debate over the planned expansion this week as Blaine County School District trustees balked at the price tag associated…
The Blaine County School District board of trustees unanimously approved a contract with the Blaine County Education Association during a special meeting Tuesday evening, clearing the final hurdle for the deal to govern salaries, benefits and working conditions for teachers during the 2019-2…
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Blaine County students lag behind their peers in the social and emotional aspects of their education, according to results of new survey from the School District presented to its board of trustees last week.
The Blaine County School District unveiled its first draft of a 2019-20 budget to the school board last week, showcasing a $63.4 million general fund spending plan—and a healthy cash reserve—in advance of a formal June 11 hearing on the subject.
Today, May 22, marks the last day of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts’ current Big Idea project, “Unraveling: Reimagining Colonization in the Americas.”
Allegations of sexual harassment shook up the Blaine County school board during its monthly meeting Tuesday, when a recent graduate claimed that he and a friend who was then a senior at Wood River High School were propositioned by a female school staffer in 2018.
The Blaine County School District will roll out a suite of new safety protocols next year, Director of Student Safety Dave Stellers announced during a monthly meeting of the board of trustees on Tuesday night.
The Blaine County School District and a group representing its teachers have agreed in principle to an updated contract governing salaries, benefits and working conditions for the 2019-20 school year, wrapping up on Thursday more than 25 hours at the bargaining table.
Want to know something about just about everything? Check out the wide-ranging list of senior projects that has challenged a group of 32 Sun Valley Community School seniors in 2019.
Camas County High School’s Class of 2019 will hold its graduation ceremony Saturday, May 11, at 6:30 p.m. in the high school gym, in Fairfield. There are nine graduates, five girls and four boys.
Best-selling author Julie Lythcott-Haims will deliver the commencement address to the Sun Valley Community School’s class of 2019, school spokeswoman Anneliese Turck announced on Friday.
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An investigation into a suspicious note found at Wood River Middle School ended Tuesday after a pair of students confessed to planting the potential threat as a way to get out of school, police said.
Four sessions totaling more than 20 hours of discussion were not enough to settle contract negotiations between the Blaine County School District and the Blaine County Education Association, which represents its teachers.
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All Blaine County public schools have remained open as usual this week as police continue to investigate a suspicious note found at Wood River Middle School on Tuesday.
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All Blaine County public schools are open as usual today, after law enforcement agencies determined that a suspicious note found at Wood River Middle School did not constitute a “specific or credible” threat, the district announced early Wednesday morning.
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