Trustees urge community to track state education bills; debate voucher, block-grant and gun-free-schools proposals

Chair Wright, board chair of the Sweetwater County School District #1 board of trustees, urged residents at the board’s February meeting to track and weigh in on several state bills that trustees said could affect school funding, staffing and safety.

“Please go there, and you can get the contact information for our legislators, and please share because it is your voice that matters most to them,” Chair Wright said, pointing parents and staff to the state bill website and the district’s list of local legislators.

The board discussed multiple measures currently in the Wyoming Legislature. Trustees noted that House Bill 199, described in the meeting as the “Wyoming Freedom Scholarship Act,” would divert about $44.5 million annually from the public-school funding account to an account for education scholarships or vouchers. According to the board’s summary, the bill would remove income eligibility limits and allow a $7,000 voucher per student to be paid to the education provider rather…