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Board declares reduction in force under policy 448, identifies one nurse as affected
Summary
At its March 10 meeting the Blaine County School District Board of Trustees voted to declare a reduction in force under district policy 448, identifying school nurse Allison Burns as the employee impacted; trustees also directed a policy review to revise RIF criteria ahead of the 2026–27 year.
The Blaine County School District Board of Trustees voted on March 10 to declare a reduction in force under district policy 448, and administration identified school nurse Allison Burns as the employee affected by the certified-staff reduction.
Director Blackburn told trustees HR applied the district's RIF rubric consistently, notified affected employees of their calculated scores, and reminded the board that employees retain two years of recall rights. Blackburn said the district followed the Charlotte Danielson evaluation model in compiling evaluation information used by the rubric.
Several trustees pressed administration on the fairness of the rubric, arguing it placed heavy weight on credentials and seniority rather than demonstrable impact on students. One trustee said the rubric's "current school service" points (leadership roles, advising, extracurricular work) were not clearly defined and that the board should not be asked to approve a personnel reduction when the policy feels misaligned with stated district priorities such as student achievement.
Board members agreed the policy committee should review the RIF policy and recommended rubric language. Administration said a subcommittee will review the process and bring recommendations to the policy committee; trustees were told the committee could present information in May or June with potential policy action in July for implementation in the 2026'27 school year.
Chair and administration also warned trustees there may be an additional reduction in force in English language arts to be brought before the board next month and that the same criteria and recall process would apply.
A trustee moved to declare the reduction in force; after a second the board voted and the motion carried. The public transcript records the motion as approved but does not list a full roll-call tally in the public discussion.
What happens next: administration said it will continue to meet individually with affected staff, offer recall rights if positions reopen, and the policy committee will draft revisions to better align RIF criteria with the district's stated priorities.
