Dear Editor,
This letter is being written in response to the resignation of Carla Hester-Croff from the Board of Trustees at Western Wyoming Community College. It was with great sadness that I read Ms. Hester-Croff was stepping down. Ms. Hester-Croff asked the hard questions at the discomfort of the administration at Western. She also stood to be the lone dissenting voice when the layoffs were confirmed on January 28. Layoffs that included nine instructors, three of which were math instructors. Layoffs that included seven WEA members to include its President and Treasurer, the lone full-time Sociology and Geology instructors.
There is a new, proposed policy on the horizon. The Board of Trustees is comprised of elected officials. We, the community, elect members of our community to help govern the college. Western is a public, tax-supported institution and it belongs to us, Green River, Rock Springs, and the outlying communities. We expect our elected officials to ask questions and get answers. The Board isn’t supposed to say yes to everything nor should they turn a blind eye. Ms. Hester-Croff often asked questions and voiced concerns.
The new, proposed policy will make it much easier to remove Board Members. The proposed policy contains a provision allowing for a fellow Board member or community member to complain about a Board member. There will be a “due” process and with a two-thirds vote, the Board member can be removed.
I, personally, am not comfortable with this new proposed policy. It stinks of the potential for cronyism and is a blatant attempt to circumvent the will of the voters. This new proposed addition to policy will actually allow for the Board to be stacked with the “right” people, people chosen after the removal of the offending Board member. Members more inclined to agree or go along than voice concerns.
As a community, we should be very concerned at the shenanigans taking place at Western. Within weeks of laying off nine instructors, a newly created Marketing position was posted on SweetwaterNOW. Internally, the Director of Admissions job received a new title, tweaking of the duties, and was reposted.
The same thing happened with the Director of Workforce position. Yet, the wording of the President’s Cabinet recommendation was this, “eliminating and/or discontinuing (layoff) the following full-time positions due to the previously described lack of funds.”
Wow! To be clear, Western is an institution of higher learning, right? Please wake up Rock Springs and Green River! There is something terribly wrong with this picture!
Teresa Shafe
Green River
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