STORY BY JERRY GALLAGHER

PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Blaine County School District Board of Trustees is seeking parents and guardians, staff members and community members to serve on three board advisory committees: the Finance Committee, Policy Committee and Calendar Committee.

• The purpose of the Finance Committee is to provide feedback to the board regarding the district’s financial interests and operations and to assist in fulfilling the board’s oversight responsibilities and ensuring the public’s trust.
• The purpose of the Policy Committee is to assess how implementation of proposed policy changes would impact daily practice across the district and community.
• The purpose of the Calendar Committee is to develop and thoroughly vet two or three district calendars (possibly for multiple years) and submit them to the board for consideration.

The board seeks committee members who have experience applicable to the committee’s purpose and have varied background and perspective.

“As a board, we are inviting the input of staff and community members to help guide the work of the board and the district overall,” said Lara Stone, Board Vice Chair. “We look forward to more actively engaging our community in this important process.”

Prospective committee members must meet at least one of the following criteria: Be a resident and/or taxpayer of Blaine County, a parent or guardian of a BCSD student, a BCSD staff member or an expert or professional, as stipulated in board policy.

Initial terms are for one year beginning Oct. 12, 2021. Meetings will be scheduled as necessary--there may be multiple meetings in a month, as well as periods with few meetings. Meetings may be virtual or in person as conditions permit.

Members should be willing to attend at least 75 percent of meetings, be able to clearly communicate about the committee’s work and be willing to work productively with other committee members and district staff. Committee members may not be related to or employed by any trustees or district administrators.

Staff and community members interested in serving on one of the advisory committees must submit a letter of interest to Board Clerk Vicki Pitcairn at clerk@blaineschools.org by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5. The letter can be submitted either through an online form or by downloading a PDF of the form, filling it out and emailing it to Pitcairn. Links to the online form and the PDF can be found on the homepage of the district website at https://www.blaineschools.org.

Committee members will be appointed at the Oct. 12 regular board meeting. Questions? Contact Vicki  Pitcairn at clerk@blaineschools.org.

SCHOOL BOARD GOES VIRTUAL

The Blaine County School Board has decided to hold all board meetings and work sessions virtually until the spread of COVID-19 in the Wood River Valley subsides. The South Central Public Health District has placed Blaine County in its “Critical Risk” category for the past several weeks.

“In my view, putting all trustees and key district administrative staff in a closed room with various members of the public present would not be the responsible thing to do given the current status of COVID-19 in our area,” said Keith Roark, Board Chair. “Based on the COVID-19 numbers we are seeing in our district and Blaine County overall, we believe it is in the best interest of our board, district staff and our community to return to virtual meetings for the time being.”

To view BCSD’s COVID-19 data dashboard, visit https://www.blaineschools.org/Page/4536.