Sweetwater County School District #2 board votes to seek general contractors for CTE project to protect local funds

A committee member moved and the board voted to issue a request for qualifications (RFQ) for general contractors to complete the district's career and technical education (CTE) project, a step members said is intended to lock in locally held funds before state-level changes limit local control.

The motion was introduced by a committee member who said the RFQ would "speed up the process before we lose control of local district funding." The board chair called for discussion and the motion passed, with the chair announcing "motion carries."

Another committee member argued the change was urgent because, they said, recent legislation will alter the district's funding structure and shift key decisions to Cheyenne, noting the board is "losing local control of how we operate the district." That member said the district should retain discretion over funds that had been saved for the CTE facility and expressed support for seeking contractors to ensure the money is dedicated to the intended project.

A separate member explained the fiscal rationale: the district has until July 1 to act on reserves it has saved, and putting a single large contract in place before that date would dedicate those funds to the high-school CTE facility the district has been planning. "That is why we've had to shift gears and move in this direction," the member said.

The chair called for a final vote; members voiced their support and the chair declared the motion approved. The board did not read a full roll call in the transcript; the record captures several individual aye and nay responses and the chair's announcement that the motion carried.

Next steps the board discussed include issuing the RFQ and returning with contractor responses; the board did not specify a timeline for selecting a contractor in the recorded remarks.