STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Blaine County School District Officials got a surprise this year as they looked at enrollment numbers.

“Unexpected and contrary to past trends, elementary school enrollment changed this year with Hailey decreasing and Hemingway increasing,” Superintendent Dr. GwenCarol Holmes noted in a memo to the Board of Trustees.

The change resulted in moving one teacher from Hailey Elementary to the Ketchum school following the first week of school.

Hemingway Elementary is embarking on a new STEAM (science, technology, engineering arts and math) program this year, developing a new model of inquiry-based education.

The Board of Trustees will address the preliminary enrollment data for the first eight days of school during their regular September meeting t 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, in the Minnie Moore Room of the Community Campus on Fox Acres Road in Hailey.

Preliminary student enrollment numbers are consistent with last year overall across the district. The 2017-18 General Fund budget was based on student enrollment of 3,407, and the first week of school mirrored that.

In addition to reviewing enrollment numbers, Trustees will hear from Business Manager Bryan Fletcher and Kathryn Goldman on potential revenue solutions for the General Fund. Goldman conducted a poll querying voters about their support for class size, programs and teacher salaries this summer.

On Tuesday the Trustees will also roll out a new system called Board Docs, which will help them manage public meetings more efficiently. The system is paperless and Cloud-based, allowing users to search for documents that are part of board meetings.