Pocatello trustees grapple with shrinking budget and a school closure decision

This article was originally published by Idaho Ed News on Jan. 9, 2025.

POCATELLO (IdahoEdNews.org) – Pocatello school leaders are facing difficult decisions — including possibly closing a school — as they contend with a budget that has essentially shrunk by $8 million since 2019.

In that time, enrollment has declined by more than 900 students, COVID-19 has disrupted schools nationwide, and federal and state dollars intended to stave off pandemic-related financial repercussions have expired.

Now, Pocatello/Chubbuck school trustees are grappling with the fallout.

Last school year, the district cut 14 staff positions through attrition to help balance the budget. And that was just the start. To make ends meet, at least 20 more positions and as many as 37 will have to be eliminated through attrition over the next two to three years, according to Jonathan Balls, the district’s director of business operations.

Those cuts will eventually impact students.

In this case, it may mean closing an elementary school so students can be consolidated among fewer schools. That way, students can be spread more equitably among a shrinking district staff.

At a special meeting Tuesday, trustees mulled over three possible solutions — two of which include closing a school — in front of an audience that included concerned parents and stakeholders. About 16 staff and community members attended in-person, and the recorded meeting garnered 175 views within 24 hours.

The proposals have largely been met with pushback, including a protest, public testimony and emails to trustees.

The board will need to decide by the end of February at the latest, Superintendent Douglas Howell said. That decision could come as early as the Jan. 21 regular meeting, said Courtney Fisher, the district’s communications director.

But there will be a few more public meetings ahead of that, including a public hearing next week and a special meeting to follow at a later date.

Pocatello is not the only district facing budgetary issues and enrollment declines. At least five Idaho districts — including West Bonner, Caldwell, Coeur d’Alene, Nampa and Boise — have recently decided to close one or more schools.

And it’s not just Idaho — school trustees are facing tough budget decisions nationwide.

Pocatello trustees are mulling three proposals — and none will make everyone happy

To address the enrollment and funding declines, the school board is considering three proposals:

• Closing Washington Elementary and redrawing boundaries.
• Closing Tendoy Elementary and redrawing boundaries.
• Keeping all schools open and redrawing boundaries.

A committee made up of six staff members and seven parents developed the proposals. The committee recommended closing Washington Elementary, partly because of its age and immediate maintenance needs.

Washington was built in the 1920s and would require millions of dollars in improvements right away, according to district calculations (see page 2 of this document). But over time, both schools would require more than $10 million for maintenance needs.

Washington parents and supporters have spoken out against the closure at multiple meetings, and via a protest. Tendoy parents and supporters have also opposed a potential closure via emails to the board and public comment.

And parents have pushed back on the various ways the boundaries were redrawn in the three scenarios, since it would mean some students districtwide would have to potentially change schools next fall.

As Trustee Jim Facer put it, no matter which option they choose, “We’re not going to be able to please everybody.”

“I don’t know that I’m ready to pull the plug on a school just yet,” Trustee Heather Clarke said. “Spreading the icing a little bit further — is that what’s going to be best for our kids right now?”

But later in the meeting, Howell said that “the icing can be so thin that you have none on a certain part of the cake. And that’s essentially where we’re going to be headed,” if the district doesn’t close a school.

A.J. Watson, the director of elementary education, said the third option — just redrawing boundaries without closing a school — would have more downsides than benefits so it would not be worthwhile. He added that keeping all schools open could be “more disruptive” than closing a school.

If all schools were kept open, classroom sizes would become even more unbalanced across the district, Fisher said in an interview with EdNews. And the district’s financial stability would be impacted, Balls said in an interview.

Ultimately, school leaders are trying to take a “proactive step to align our enrollment with our staffing and maintain the financial health of the district,” Fisher said.