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CWC outlines outreach growth and urges board to bolster VOCES levy to sustain dual-enrollment and local certificates
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Summary
Central Wyoming College told the Hot Springs County School District board it has expanded local outreach and concurrent-enrollment offerings, proposed sharing outreach staffing costs, and urged trustees to consider increasing the VOCES mill levy to stabilize learning-center services and instructor pay.
Central Wyoming College representatives told the Hot Springs County School District board that an expanded local outreach presence and a new memorandum of understanding with the district have opened opportunities for Thermopolis students and community members to earn college credit and short certificates locally.
"Nearly half of all the students at Hot Springs County High School this year took at least one dual or concurrent enrollment class," said Matt Johnson, director of CWC's high-school dual-credit program, during the presentation. Johnson added that the credits students earned this year represent roughly $144,000 in tuition value that students and families did not have to pay.
Dr. Cathy Wells, vice president for academics at CWC, described a fuller on-site support model at the Learning Center in Thermopolis that includes an outreach coordinator (Dan Huayre) and wraparound student services for academic advising, tutoring and career guidance. Wells said CWC is working on new pathways — from applied math embedded in CTE programs to short certificates in event planning, hospitality and health-care support — and is exploring an introductory AI course for eventual concurrent-enrollment credit.
CWC asked the board to consider how VOCES/BOCES levy funds might sustain those local services. Johnson and CWC staff proposed options including stipends for concurrent-enrollment instructors and contributing to half of the outreach coordinator position currently funded by grant support. "We would like to include a stipend to concurrent-enrollment instructors through the BOCES budget," Johnson said, because instructor workload has increased as local offerings grow.
Trustees were briefed on the state-level change that introduced $10 million annually intended for dual-enrollment statewide; Johnson warned that the new funding will reduce certain local VOCES expenses but that details and reimbursement rules remain unsettled. He explained that last year the district paid nearly $40,000 in dual-enrollment tuition and that this year the district's tuition expense was roughly $25,000–$30,000; how the state and local reimbursement rules ultimately apply will affect the VOCES budget.
During public comment, Sherry Shale (representing the Learning Center and Thrive Thermopolis) urged trustees to increase VOCES funding to make the outreach position sustainable. "That position right now is funded through the end of this fiscal year," Shale said. "We do fundraisers; we write grants. That funding is not a permanent source."
Trustees took the CWC presentation as an initial budget reading and advanced the VOCES/BOCES preliminary budget for additional discussion; board members noted they will have a month to review potential mill-levy changes. CWC staff and community speakers emphasized workforce-development outcomes — CNAs, EMTs and certificates that can place graduates into local jobs — and asked the district to weigh sustaining outreach investment against levy and reserve considerations.
Next steps: the board approved the VOCES presentation on first reading and will discuss mill-levy options and finalize budget amounts at a future meeting, after CWC and district staff refine enrollment, cost and reimbursement details.
