The Kuna school board had a busy meeting Tuesday, as trustees extended the interim superintendent’s contract, canceled school on Election Day and rejected a library book challenge.

The contract decision came after a months-long search to replace former superintendent Wendy Johnson, who left this summer for a job in the Boise School District. Assistant superintendent Kim Bekkedahl stepped up as interim leader. On Tuesday, trustees voted 3-2 to keep her on the job.

Kuna will also suspend its superintendent search for now. The community has raised concerns that a superintendent change at this moment would “destabilize” the leadership team, school board chairwoman Kim Nixon told Idaho Education News. Next month, Kuna voters will decide on the district’s proposed $7.2 million supplemental levy.

“I supported this pause because the district is focused on rebuilding relationships with our community, the Nov. 5 levy and potentially a future bond,” Nixon said by email. “I’ve also heard from staff that they need an additional year to continue the positive progress for our district and students. Supt. Bekkedahl and her team are doing an amazing job.”

Trustees JD Grant and Michael Thornton also voted to retain Bekkedahl. Trustees Kyrsti Bruce and Hillary Lowe opposed the motion.

Survey asks for feedback on superintendent qualities

Kuna recently conducted a survey that asked district patrons, staff and students what professional and personal qualities they’d value in a new superintendent.

The district received hundreds of responses; 89% of respondents said they were parents or caretakers of a Kuna student, 20% were district district staff, 2% were students and 12% were other residents of the district.

The survey asked respondents to select eight professional qualities and five personal characteristics from a prearranged list.

Here are the top professional qualities selected and the percentage of respondents who picked each one:

• Experience with budgeting and school finance, 71%.
• Successful experience with managing staff (including teacher recruitment and retention), 60%.
• Fosters positive community relationships (including parent/student engagement), 58%.
• Has positive experiences dealing with conflict and problem management, 52%.

Here are the top personal qualities selected and the percentage of respondents who picked each one:

• Shows good judgment and common sense, basing decisions on facts and without prejudice, 63%.
• Good character with high morals and unquestionable integrity, 62%.
• Expects trust, transparency and openness in leadership, 52%.

To read the full survey results, click here.

Trustees close school for election

Trustees also voted to close school on Nov. 5 in anticipation of high voter turnout on Election Day, when schools are used as polling places.

The Boise and West Ada school districts also canceled Election Day classes, citing similar concerns, BoiseDev reported. Kuna trustees unanimously voted to make Nov. 5 an “emergency day,” which means schools are closed for staff as well as students. 

“I always felt like it was questionable dropping my kids off on election day when strangers are going in and out,” Lowe said during Tuesday’s meeting. “It doesn’t feel like a secure building anymore, with the way the world is.”

Toni Morrison book to remain in library

Trustees unanimously rejected a request to remove Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” from the Kuna High School library.

The book, published in 1970, is in a restricted section of the library, according to Kevin Gifford, Kuna’s director of curriculum, instruction and assessment. Students must have a permission slip, signed by their parents, to access books in this section, Gifford said.

Kristi Hardy, a district parent who unsuccessfully ran for a school board seat last year, filed a complaint asking the district to remove the book from the high school library altogether. The book “describes child rape by an adult while (two) other adults are watching,” Hardy wrote in the complaint, which she filed last month.

“I actually could not bring myself to finish reading it,” Hardy told the school board Tuesday. 

Hardy acknowledged that Morrison’s book has “cultural value” in its exploration of the harms of racism. But she argued that “countless other books” convey the harms of racism without including sexual content.

“This book doesn’t contain any unique educational information.”

Prior to the board’s ruling, a six-person committee reviewed Hardy’s complaint and unanimously recommended to trustees that “The Bluest Eye” remain in the restricted section.

The school board agreed.

“As much as I, personally, probably would not want my child reading that…I don’t feel like I can take that right away from another parent,” Nixon said during Tuesday’s meeting. “It is the right of the parents to decide.”