Blaine school board extends Granger’s contract 3-2

The Blaine school board voted to extend superintendent Chris Granger’s contract for an additional year, through June 30, 2028, after a 3-2 vote during its regular meeting on December 10. This is an extension of the contract approved by the board in June, which was previously set to expire at the end of the 2027 school year.

Board president Cliff Freeman, Ryan Swinburnson and Ben Lazarus voted to extend the superintendent’s contract. Erika Creydt and Steve Galbraith voted against the extension.

Galbraith laid out a host of reasons for why he did not want to extend Granger’s contract, namely the fact that Granger had interviewed for other superintendent positions, and said he views a three-year rolling contract as “not friendly” to the district.

“There’s very little or no protections for the district should Dr. Granger get another job and he’s gone,” Galbraith said. “So I’m not in favor of the contract as written.”

Swinburnson, who voted to extend the contract, agreed with Galbraith that some of the language in the contract needed clarification and amending, but voted to extend Granger’s contract, citing Granger’s work ethic through a five-year tenure of especially challenging circumstances, citing the pandemic and multiple years of budget cuts.

“He’s been the superintendent for five years, which are probably some of the most tumultuous years in Blaine’s history,” Swinburnson said. “It’s very clear to me that the school district has a lot of healing to do, with not only its members but with the community. I think that healing starts at the top. It starts with Dr. Granger. It starts with the administration. With this board, we need to set aside any personal vendetta that we might have and start making decisions for the betterment of the students.”

Virtually every board member that spoke regarding their vote said they hoped the district, either with or without a contract extension for Granger, could improve on its messaging and work toward less “negativity” as Swinburnson put it, within the community.

In the past two budget cycles, the board passed reduced education plans, which featured significant staffing cuts that have saved the district millions of dollars at the expense of roughly 90 positions. According to previous reporting by The Northern Light, staff salaries make up roughly 85 percent of the district’s operating budget.

A 2023 vote by the school board to reduce the budget by roughly $5 million, cutting around 65 staff positions, prompted mass student walkouts in support of teachers whose jobs were impacted by the reduction. The next year, the board voted to cut roughly 30 staff positions in a $2.5 million reduction.

“It’s clear to me that there’s conflict out there and there’s been pain associated with the budgeting cycle and the lockdown,” Freeman said. “I recognize that we all need to do our best to resolve some of these tough issues and where possible we’re going to reach consensus on those and move ahead. But when we can’t, and when it comes time to make that tough decision, then my call is that I’ll be supporting Dr. Granger in that.”

Under a separate motion, the board agreed unanimously to have board president Freeman and vice president Galbraith enter into a discussion with the superintendent on new or amended contract parameters and language. A finalized contract will be brought to the board for consideration of approval no later than the May 27, 2025 regular meeting.

“I think the contract, and I’ve voiced this before, is subparly written,” Swinburnson said. “It’s not a well-written contract.”

According to previous reporting by The Northern Light, Granger will earn a base salary of $215,979 for the 2024-25 school year, and the board remains able to adjust the rate on a yearly basis. The salary is in line with superintendent salaries from neighboring districts.

Prior to the vote on the contract extension, the board held a vote on acceptance of an annual performance review, for which Granger was listed as “satisfactory.” The board voted 4-1 to pass the review, with Creydt as the lone “nay.”