UPDATE 6 A.M. 4/13/21 Following an executive session at the end of last night’s meeting, the SCSD No. 1 Board of Trustees voted unanimously to move all fourth grade sections in the district to Pilot Butte and Eastside Elementary Schools. The board also voted unanimously to adopt Option A in the proposed school closing options. The changes will begin in the fall semester of this year.
ROCK SPRINGS The difficult decision to begin closing schools due to budget shortfalls was outlined tonight at the Sweetwater County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees meeting.
The reality of a shrinking student population combined with a projected budget shortfall of nearly $12 million over the next three years has forced the district to adjust for the changes.
CHEYENNE A bill aimed to take a jab at the $300 million education funding shortfall died in the Wyoming Legislature Wednesday after the Senate and House couldn’t come to an agreement.
At the start of the legislative session, education funding was a the forefront of concerns with several bills targeting K-12 funds. However, most of those bills failed to advance and attention was placed on two bills in particular: House Bill 173 and Senate File 143.
While both bills were designed to make major cuts in education funding, the House bill preserved the funding model as a block grant and included a conditional sales tax to help with revenue, whereas the Senate file did neither. The House did not consider the Senate file for introduction after it passed through the Senate.
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.
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.
7 students
Currently Sweetwater School District No. 1 has 10 employees out for COVID-related reasons.
Here are some additional measures we’ve taken to keep schools as safe as possible through the use of grant funds:
We have improved air quality by following ASHRAE and CDC guidelines.
Ionizers were installed in all schools and building air handler units (AHUs). Ionizers positively charge particles in the air. These particles surround the protein spikes on the COVID-19 virus rendering them ineffective. This process increases the size of the virus so it can be picked up by the higher efficiency filters, which makes it effective in removing dust, pollen, bacteria, germs and viruses.