Bruneau-Grand View board will keep Bruneau Elementary open for 2025–26, votes to close it starting 2026–27

The Bruneau-Grand View Joint School District Board of Trustees voted July 8 to keep Bruneau Elementary open for the 2025–26 school year while approving a separate plan to close the school beginning with the 2026–27 school year.

Trustee Elaine Eldridge moved to approve the plan to keep Bruneau Elementary open for 2025–26, contingent on staff availability; Trustee Raelynn Mathews seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Later in the same meeting, Trustee Steve Boren moved to approve closing Bruneau Elementary beginning in 2026–27; Trustee Allen Merrick seconded and that motion also passed unanimously.

The decisions came after an extended public comment period and a district survey that many community members and some board members questioned. Lynn Foster, identified in the meeting record as a Bruneau taxpayer and volunteer, asked for an explanation of the timing and method of the survey. Gary Jones, a Bruneau resident and former teacher and coach, told the board that voters in his zone supported a recently passed two-year levy under the impression Bruneau Elementary would remain open and said closing the school “would break trust with the community and likely jeopardize future levy or bond support.”

Former trustee Sherry Colyer reported the community had gathered 104 petition signatures and retained legal counsel, and she said the levy had been presented to voters as a way to keep all schools open. “You are never wrong to do the right thing,” Colyer said, quoting Mark Twain as she urged the board to follow historical precedent.

The board heard details about the May 25–June 27 survey from virtual presenters Amy Holly and Micheal Keith, who said the survey showed split opinion on consolidation and generally low confidence in district leadership. Board members and members of the public raised concerns about outreach and methodology — including text-message opt-outs, multiple responses tracked by IP address, and whether the survey reached registered voters specifically. The district reported the survey cost at about $4,000.

Superintendent Jeff Blaser reminded the board of prior Ad Hoc committee work that examined enrollment decline and recommended exploring a single PreK–12 campus at the district’s Rimrock site. The board has previously approved contingency language tied to enrollment thresholds (including a 35-student minimum for Bruneau Elementary staffing in earlier planning documents) and had hired an architect to develop facility plans.

Trustee Raelynn Mathews told the audience, “We will adhere to the voter feedback whatever the outcome,” and the board said it would continue long-range planning later in the 2025–26 school year rather than forming a new committee immediately. The board also approved, by separate motion, the greenhouse grant and its proposed location (Option 1) and tabled further immediate long-range planning to await additional community information.

What happens next: the board’s approval keeps Bruneau Elementary open for the coming school year subject to staff availability; the closure plan is set to take effect for the 2026–27 school year unless the board revisits or alters that schedule. The district said it will continue public communication and planning work in the coming months.