The Legality of the Letter: The School in Femont Cherno County of the letter in a secret – newspaper

Lenter-after behind-the-scenes discussions, members of Fremont County in County 1 Board members took a position on controversial bills for education in a Cheyenne debate: No position.

Instead, the Lander School Council prepared an opinion as a whole in support of teachers and sent it to the staff and media on Friday afternoon.

How did the board come up with the letter? This did not happen at a public meeting, as required by Wyoming’s law. Instead, it seems that board members have expressed their opinion in a series of emails.

Board employee Scott Jenson said in an interview on Monday that with separate e -mail exchanges, board members have provided whether to call a special meeting to hold a position on the proposed legislation, explaining whether they can reached a consensus for support or Opposition to bills. In the end, they disagreed.

Instead, the Council decided not to call a meeting and draw up a letter signed by any board member, which simply emphasized the support of Lander’s school council members for the Light of the “present political environment [in which teachers can feel] attacked, depreciated and undervalued. ”

But Wyoming’s law is clear. The decisions of local self -government – whether it should be appointed a letter or to take a position under legislation – must be taken in the light of the day, at a public meeting.

Accounts

One thing is clear: not everyone in Lander’s school council agrees.

Board member Eilin Bruu has created his own opinion by calling HB 100’s efforts to allow anyone over 18, who can go back to the background, be a short -sighted teacher.

She said that the legislation “undermines and depreciating” Lander’s teachers and erodes quality education found in Wyoming.

Jenson did not agree, noting that the proposed legislation did not require the areas to hire unqualified instructors. Instead, it opens its doors.

“I believe it gives more local region control to decide which one is most skilled to fill,” he said, adding this scenario: “Let’s say, for example, that you have someone who served in the army for 28 years and ended the career you like sergeant Major, the highest rank you can achieve, “Jenson described.

This sergeant owns Spanish and married to a Spanish speaker; This is what they talk at home. Compare the sergeant with the very recent graduate, who has just finished four years of Spanish in high school, four years in college and just recently certified to teach in Wyoming.

“Which of these people is more skilled [to teach Spanish]? Jenson asked the question; Almost answered.

But others believe that the loose requirements of the bill will destroy public education in Wyoming teachers and offend who spent years earning high -ranking powers.

Bruu said public education was a “beating” under this and other accounts.

The HB 100 was aimed at the Chamber of Education on January 24 and did not acquire much grip there.

HB 199 will allow a $ 7,000 scholarship or subsidy for each child who has chosen something other than the K-12 public schools in Wyoming, and Brew has called into question the lack of accountability in this legislation.

Other leaders of education throughout the country also claimed that the program for advanced school vouchers would take students away from public schools by taking their funding at school with them.

Jumping

The Wyoming Open Meeting Act requires governing bodies to make decisions only during public meetings.

The Lander Journal made a request for data to review email conversations, which include the Council’s decision not to officially oppose or to support legislative bills and to issue a teacher support letter, but has not yet received the documents.

Jenson described electronic threads as an effort to determine whether the Council could be “united in support or opposition” of legislation.

But he said he did not think that the decisions taken by email were a violation of the Open Meeting Act.

“I can only talk about myself. The way I looked at it did not see him that we made a decision about something in substance, “he said. “There was a question whether we should come up with something and should we have a special meeting to do this.”

Teachers in cheerleading letters, he described, “it was something we had to tell the field employees just to help with morality.”

“My preference would be a public meeting to discuss this,” Brew noted in an interview on Tuesday.

She said that other meetings of the school board, such as the Tuesday night in Jeffrey City, made the board of board together for a special meeting to consider the legislation more complicated.

“I think that many of our employees rightly wanted to know what our answer would be and if we had one,” she explained. “So our online conversation was largely trying to understand this answer, knowing that this week we have other agenda elements regarding public meetings.”

Bruu said she had written her own letter opposed to a list of bills.

“I really feel that some of these bills, in particular, come out of the House of Representatives, are really striking at the heart of some of the things I find useful and need our support in public education in Wyoming,” she explained.

But although the board as a whole decided not to take the position of HB 100 or others, Brew said it did not feel like a minority.

“I really don’t,” she said. “Because I believe that all our advice is behind his certified teachers. I really believe in this. And our advice understands that the quality of our teachers is the direct connection between the quality instruction that our students receive and the high levels of achievement we see in our area. These commitments are from the board … to the employees of our area. ”

“We will do our best to make sure that education here remains strong, regardless of what is happening in Cheyenne,” Jenson noted. “In Lander, I think we take care of our children more than the people in Cheyenne, or people in Washington.”

Not alone

Lander is not alone in the vote by email behind the scenes in terms of legislation.

On January 25, Riverton Chief Jody Ibach sent an email to the River’s School Board and, citing the expected hearing on Monday over HB 100, called for an e -mail vote on whether to formally oppose the bill.

Board members gave their electronic votes, and then member of the board Lori Morow prepared a letter of opposition.

The letter was sent by email to two batches to the members of the house, one at 16:44 on Monday, the other at 5:10 pm.

HB 100, Morow writes: “undermines the morals and professional recognition of licensed teachers” and “depreciates the teaching profession, risking a decline in the quality of education.”