Teachers and parents press board on bargaining, staffing and Kerry school changes

Speakers during the public‑comment period pressed the board to prioritize negotiations with educators and to reconsider or add transparency to planned structural changes at Kerry School.

Brenda Southwick, president of the Blaine County Education Association, said the association asked teachers how they are doing and heard “heartbreaking” stories: teachers working second jobs, commuting long distances because they cannot afford to live where they teach, delaying medical care, and postponing retirement. “We remain committed to bargaining in good faith,” Southwick told the board, urging trustees to choose negotiations over unilateral implementations.

Former BCA leader Marie Wolfro said the removal of a negotiations update from the agenda at the last minute was frustrating for members awaiting contracts; she detailed compromises the association has made in recent years, including reduced stipends and absorbed retirement costs, and warned unfilled special‑education positions could go unfilled if local teachers can’t afford to live here.

Parents from Kerry — including Amanda Wampler and Chris Bird — raised objections to the planned shift that would place sixth graders in the same building as high‑school students. Parents said the change risks removing elementary‑level recess and opportunities, isolates sixth graders from their elementary peers, and could expose younger students to older adolescents. They requested clearer communication, alternatives, and assurances that preschool staffing would remain certified where appropriate.