The Blue Mountain School Board released a statement on Friday announcing the reinstatement of Class Rank at the district after some confusion Thursday.
At its regular meeting on Thursday, November 21, 2024, the Blue Mountain School Board voted 5-3 to adopt and reinstitute Policy 214, which reintroduces class ranking. Initially, the vote was deemed unsuccessful based on Policy 003, which mandates a two-thirds majority for policy changes. However, a subsequent review revealed a conflict between Policy 003 and Policy 006, prompting further investigation.
Student-Led Effort for Class Rank Restoration
The initiative to restore class rank was spearheaded by Blue Mountain Senior Alex Warke, who advocated for its return. Warke emphasized that class rank provides students with a valuable benchmark for academic performance and can strengthen college applications.
Alex's dad Jeremy posted a video on social media on October 25th, 2024, of Alex advocating on the need for the policy change.
Conflicting Policies Identified
Policy 003 requires a two-thirds vote of the Board—nine members in total—to adopt, amend, or repeal policies. With only eight members present, this threshold was not met. However, after the meeting, it was noted that Policy 006 stipulates a simple majority of the full Board as sufficient for policy decisions. This discrepancy triggered an immediate review by the Board’s Solicitor.
Historical analysis traced the origins of this conflict to February 23, 2012, when Policy 006 was amended to require only a majority vote for policy changes. Policy 003, however, was never updated to reflect this change. The conflicting language in these policies led to the confusion during the recent vote.
Resolution and Future Steps
After consultation, the Solicitor concluded that Policy 006's amendment in 2012 clearly indicates the Board’s intent to adopt policies based on a simple majority. Consequently, the Board announced plans to amend Policy 003 for consistency. Until then, Policy 006 will guide decision-making in similar scenarios.
Applying Policy 006 retroactively to the November 21 vote, the Board confirmed that the 5-3 outcome in favor of reinstating class rank stands as valid. The Class of 2025 will therefore see the return of class rankings, effective immediately.