BOCES director warns mill‑levy shortfall could cut programs; mill levy to be on 2026 ballot

Shane McGuire, director of the local BOCES, told the Unit County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees that the regional educational service runs dozens of programs — including after‑school (First‑Century Learning Center), dual and concurrent college enrollment, workforce safety training, adult education and the BOOST program — serving more than 1,100 students annually.

McGuire said BOCES is funded primarily by a 2.5 mill levy reapproved by voters every four years; that levy pays general operations and the building upkeep that grants cannot cover. He warned that recent property tax cuts will reduce mill levy revenue in the coming year and said the mill will appear on the ballot in November 2026. McGuire said “if it doesn’t pass, we’re in trouble,” because grant funding cannot pay routine operating costs such as utilities, insurance and front‑desk staff.

McGuire reviewed program specifics: the district’s after‑school program covers four elementary schools and both middle schools and served more than 1,100 students; BOCES spends about $60,000 per year on Western Wyoming Community College dual‑enrollment tuition and had roughly 80 dual‑enrolled students last year; workforce safety training served more than 600 students with over 300 earning national certification in the last year; and several grant‑funded workforce and adult education programs (BOOST, Families Becoming Independent, CDL and others) run on federal and state grant cycles that often operate on reimbursement.

He said staff losses (several part‑time and one full‑time) and the challenge of recruiting adjunct instructors for electrical/instrumentation and welding programs constrain course capacity. McGuire noted BOCES also holds ARPA funds that must be spent by June 30 (this fiscal year) for certain programs and that the after‑school federal grant was briefly paused by the federal government before being restored, with funding for 2026‑27 not included in a White House budget proposal — creating uncertainty for those programs.

Board members asked about potential alternatives, including reintroducing a vocational mill levy and the structure of other counties’ BOCES; McGuire explained funding differences with Sweetwater County BOCES (county‑wide levy and Western campus facilities) and said a vocational mill levy would be a separate, permanent levy pursued with district partners. He said past attempts failed and that proposing a vocational levy would require a concrete plan and coordination with partners and likely a future ballot (potentially 2028) rather than 2026.

McGuire thanked the board and district staff for operational support, cited community services hosted at BOCES (for example the United Way Diaper Bank), and said the BOCES building’s maintenance costs are a major ongoing expense.