ROCK SPRINGS Sweetwater County School District No. 1 Superintendent Kelly McGovern announced this afternoon that there won’t be a reduction in force for the 2021-2022 school year.
McGovern made the announcement during a special board meeting today after the Wyoming Legislature failed to reach an agreement on HB173 yesterday. The bill sought to establish a sustainable funding model for K-12 education, and was a focal point on the 2021 General Session this year.
Board Chairwoman Carol Jelaco said that puts the district in the exact same position it was in last year in terms of making decisions based on a funding model.
ROCK SPRINGS A March 22nd deadline for homeschool student curriculums to be turned into Sweetwater County School District No. 1 has some parents concerned that they won’t have enough time to meet the request.
Several parents expressed those concerns during the public comment period of the Board of Trustees’ regular meeting last night. Homeschool families received a certified letter from the district recently stating that the curriculum must be turned in within the next two weeks.
“The beauty of homeschooling my children is that I get to tailor their learning experience to fit their needs,” said parent Elena Bulkley. “That takes time to research, and the deadline is just unacceptable.”
SWEETWATER COUNTY Sweetwater County School District (SCSD) No. 1 was joined by SCSD No. 2 and a few local legislators Wednesday night for an informational virtual meeting regarding upcoming legislation targeted at K-12 education funding.
There are several bills in the upcoming legislative session that have been drafted to cut K-12 funding. One of these bills is House Bill 61, which aims to cut the School Foundation Program Account by $100 million starting Fiscal Year 2022, and each year thereafter. That equates about a 7 percent decrease in funding, or $1,000 per student in Wyoming, according to Chris Dean, SCSD No. 2 Business Manager.
The two school boards expressed their concerns during the meeting, in which Wyoming House of Representative members Chad Banks, Clark Stith, and Scott Heiner were in attendance.
ROCK SPRINGS A revised policy would allow the Sweetwater County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees to reduce its workforce in a final measure to meet budget reductions over the next several years.
The District is facing an estimated $8 million shortfall and has been asked by the Wyoming Legislature to trim its budget by 10 percent over the next year.
All Wyoming school boards were encouraged by the Wyoming School Boards Association to update their Reduction in Force (RIF) policies if they hadn’t been updated recently, due to the forecasted budget shortfalls. SCSD No. 1 hadn’t been updated it policy in about 25 years.
ROCK SPRINGS Following an executive session that lasted nearly three hours last night, the Sweetwater County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees voted to extend Superintendent Kelly McGovern’s contract through the 2023-2024 school year.
The board voted 5-1 to retain McGovern’s contract with John Bettolo casting the lone dissenting vote. Trustee George Reedy was not present at the board meeting last night.
McGovern has served as the district’s Superintendent for seven years, taking the position in 2014. She has been employed by the district as a teacher and administrator for a combined 30 years.
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