The Sweetwater County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees went though an eventful year in 2018. The board saw new members join its ranks while saying goodbye to a few familiar faces, closed a school and continued dealing with the fallout from decisions made by the Wyoming Legislature, which would impact its funding.
Early in the year, school board members expressed disappointment after a meeting with legislators from Sweetwater County, who told board members the legislature was more interested in talking with parents about the state’s schools, not administrators or staff. Disappointment was also expressed at members of the legislature deciding to ignore a study contracted by the state to investigate school funding, which ultimately supported the school funding model already in place. More disappointment was expressed specifically with Clark Smith, R-Rock Springs, who vocally supported the idea of a constitutional amendment that would eliminate school funding as a mandate under the state constitution, giving the state legislature full authority to determine education funding in Wyoming.
After the legislative session adjourned in March, the former Business Manager Pete Brandjord informed the board about the legislature’s attempt to compromise on the issue of school funding, a debate that had pit the leadership of the House and Senate against each other in proposing solutions. The House plan would use other funding streams to shore up deficits in education finances, while the Senate sought to cut education funding. A compromise would occur between the two, which would not impact the school district as greatly as the Senate’s plan would have. One way the district attempted to save money and potential employees from layoffs was through its voluntary severance program, which resulted in 10 district employees in accepting an early retirement buyout. Employees accepting the package included Brandjord, GRHS social studies teacher Storm Adcock, physical education teacher Rick Barker and music teacher Jill Carpenter.
One of the largest events in 2018 was the eventual closure of Jackson Elementary School. The school was singled out after the district’s administration decided it had to shutdown a school due to reduced funding from the state. The decision was made in late 2017, but the school would remain in operation until the end for he school year. While most school closures would involve the building maintained, but not used, a deal with the Region V Board of Cooperative Education Services resulted in the building being used as a home for the Roosevelt Learning Center. The center, originally located at the former Roosevelt Elementary School building in Rock Springs, moved to Green River after several issues with their Rock Springs location had developed. The deal gave the school district access to resources provided Region V BOCES, while giving the learning center a new location.
The district also reconfigured its elementary schools to include fifth grade classes. Monroe Intermediate School was changed to a elementary school and sixth-grade classes were moved to Lincoln Middle School. The district upgraded its science science equipment, including a virtual cadaver system at Green River High School.
GRHS had a graduation rate of more than 90 percent during the 2017-2018 school year, while Expedition Academy continued its Trent of increasing graduation rates with a 94.44 percent rate. One of the reasons for the high graduation rate is the number of students involved in activities outside the classroom. During the 2017-2018 year, 85 percent of students were involved in an activity.
The board also had three seats up for election in 2018, two of which changed hands. Robin Steiss was the only member to win re-election to her post, as John Malone had been defeated in the November election and Ann Rudoff decided not to seek re-election. Steiss was joined by Ashely Castillon and Rachelle Morris when they took their oath of office in December.
Most recently, the board decided to add Green River High School to a list of schools seeking girls softball to be added as a sanctioned sport under the Wyoming High School Athletics Association. Green River High School joins Rock Springs High School and Cody High School in a list of schools interested in sanctioning the new sport.
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