Cheyenne teachers urge district action on pay, substitutes, student behavior and a four-day week

Educators who spoke during public comment at the Laramie County School District #1 board meeting on June 2 asked trustees to take immediate steps to address teacher retention, the substitute shortage, student behavior, and to explore a four-day school week as a retention and instructional strategy.

Representatives from the Cheyenne Teachers Education Association made multiple presentations. “We need to bring back the salary schedule joint committee with the full intention of rolling out the new salary schedule for the 26–27 school year,” Dylan Ford, speaking for the association, said. Ford said the district’s salary schedule still uses fixed-dollar step increases set in the 1990s and that the structure does not keep pace with current compensation markets or retain mid-career teachers.

Substitute teachers: Shanda Terrell, another CTA speaker, described daily substitute shortages that leave regular teachers absorbing extra classes on short notice. “On any given day, a school could be short three to 10 subs,” Terrell said, and urged the district to “pay more for subs” and expand pipeline programs that prepare local high-school students to serve as substitutes.

Student behavior and safety: Mason Magana and other CTEA speakers pressed the board to address worsening student behaviors and safety concerns that they said increase burnout and reduce instructional time. Magana thanked the board for recent work on the district’s gun policy but asked that educators be included in any planning to check armed visitors and that the district produce actionable plans to curb classroom disruption.

Four-day week proposal: CTA speaker Jennifer Ponce urged the board to form a team to explore a four-day school week, arguing it would reduce Friday substitute shortages, support student-athletes and extracurricular participation, improve recruitment and retention and create focused intervention time for students who need extra help.

Board response and next steps: Trustees acknowledged receipt of the comments. Several trustees and Superintendent Dr. Newton said the board and administrators are reviewing staffing and policy issues. Trustee Cook asked for clarity on next steps for the district’s cell phone policy (a separate but related concern among staff); Dr. Newton reported principals had met and the administration would compile their comments for the board ahead of any policy changes.

What the speakers asked the board to do: Reinstate or reconstitute a salary-schedule committee with CTA participation; increase pay for substitutes (and for hard-to-fill assignments); expand substitute pipelines and certification programs; include educators in behavior and safety committees and produce concrete, actionable interventions; and form a district team to explore implementing a four-day school week within two years.

Formal actions: These public comments were not agenda items and did not result in board votes at the June 2 meeting. Trustees said some of the issues raised — notably behavior and the cell-phone policy — are already under review and would be scheduled for follow-up.