For this week’s “Five Questions With…” we asked Sweetwater County School District #1 Superintendent Kelly McGovern about the district’s budget, upcoming changes, and more.
1. How has the recent legislative session impacted the District’s budget for the coming years?
On March 13, 2017, Governor Mead signed bill HB0256, commonly known as the Omnibus Education Bill, into legislation. The outcomes from the Wyoming Legislature raised the projected District deficit from $3.7 million to $6.1 million for the 2017-2018 school year. The two biggest cost drivers of the $3.7 million deficit are the loss in funding for decreased student enrollment and increased health insurance costs under our current plan. The recent legislative session placed an additional burden of $2.3 million to the budget deficit for a total of approximately $6 million for next school year.
2. There has been a lot of talk about the newly formed Cost Saving Task Force, what kinds of ideas have they come up with to save money, and which ideas will be implemented?
Sweetwater School District #1 formed a Cost Savings Task Force recently to identify possible solutions for dealing with the bleak fiscal outlook for the State of Wyoming and the District.  The committee consisted of community members, parents, students, board members, media, District leaders, certified and classified staff. The Task Force was charged with providing input and suggestions regarding cost saving measures. The Task Force was not a decision-making group but rather an advisory committee.  Emphasis was on the importance of collaboration within the District and between our community.
In a series of three meetings, the Task Force first examined the District fiscal outlook and received a crash-course in school finance. Â All members agreed that students need to remain the first and foremost priority through these difficult times. Â In the second meeting, District information was disseminated including staffing levels, current insurance premiums, and steps taken by the District in recent years to preserve teaching positions and student programs. The Task Force generated ideas and suggestions in the final portion of the second meeting. Â During the final meeting, the group evaluated suggestions made by staff and community members via three (3) public forums held January 19 and email feedback submitted through the District website. They identified the following suggestions for the District to consider:
- Change the insurance plan
- Repurpose Lincoln Elementary
- Move to a 4-day school week
- Reduce substitute wages
- Start kindergarten with first through fourth grade
- Provide incentives for unused leave and Professional Development days
- Reduce amount of paper, copying, and printing costs
- “Pay to play†for activities
- Reduce staff
Changing the insurance plan, incentives for staff unused leave and professional development days were options brought forth and may be considered through the negotiations process between the Board of Trustees and the Sweetwater Education Association later this spring. The District will be closing Lincoln Elementary as a K – 4 building for the next school year. Two public forums were held to gather input from the community and parents as a part of the cost savings process prior to making this decision. The 4-day school week suggestion was brought forth and extended to the District Calendar Committee. This Committee convened to thoroughly discuss and reflect on the feedback received by the community, employees, and students on the proposed calendars. To solicit feedback, the proposed calendars were released on the School District website where comments could be submitted electronically. This was advertised on social media along with utilizing the various media sources. In addition, four public forums were advertised and held on Thursday February 23, 2017 in the morning and afternoon, and again on Tuesday February 28, 2017 in the afternoon and evening.
The feedback presented individuals that supported the 4-day week, along with many opposed. There was a clear message that most were undecided due to the lack of details on what the 4-day week model would look like. People expressed concern that there was not enough information to make an informed decision one way or the other.  Individuals expressed wanting to see more details regarding the model and the exact hours involved. It was because of these concerns that the calendar committee unanimously decided to remove this as an option for the current calendar cycle.  The District will organize a committee that will involve the community to research different 4-day week and extended year models. The Committee will be able to produce a plan with specific details to present to the public over the next two years for feedback to potentially propose a 4-day week and/or an extended year for the next calendar cycle.
The District also held two more public forums to consider an earlier start time for kindergarteners as an additional cost saving measure. This decision will be determined at the next meeting of the Board of Trustees on Monday, April 10, 2017 at our monthly meeting. A paperless initiative has been implemented as appropriate within the District. We are streamlining software and infrastructure to cut costs and focus the priorities for raising student achievement and supporting our staff.
The District does not anticipate a reduction in force and will re-evaluate staffing as needed through attrition. In an effort to address the impending budget shortfalls, the District has taken the following steps in an effort to preserve teaching positions and student programs: unfilled and absorbed central office positions (Assistant Superintendent, Foundation Director (Administrator), Foundation Secretary, Communications Coordinator, Webpage Design/Videographer), Maintenance/Facilities (2 full-time positions), RSJH Assistant Principal, Eastside/Pilot Butte Assistant Principal, reduced the number of classified positions, frozen experience steps for ALL District staff, and absorbed certified teaching positions through attrition (early retirement incentive, resignations, routine retirements, etc.).
Finally, the “pay to play†suggestion for student activities and reducing substitute pay ideas have not been vetted through the cost saving process at this time.  Because of this, no decisions have been made on these options. We are hoping to close the funding gap through the means listed above so no further implications would be needed.
3. Despite a history of no snow days in Sweetwater County, this past school year had a few. Why do those school days need to be made up, and why was there no cushion in the schedule for canceled school days?
Sweetwater County School District #1 schools closed on January 5, January 25, and February 24, 2017. For the first time in more than three decades, winter conditions, transportation and safety concerns for students and staff led to the cancelling of classes.   Because they had not occurred in so many years, school calendars did not reflect these days. Student and staff safety is always the number one priority and it was in the best interest of all students and District employees that these necessary precautions were taken. These are difficult decisions and not taken lightly and impact our entire community. Consultation is always made with our outlying schools in Farson and Wamsutter, Rock Springs Police Department and City of Rock Springs, Road and Travel, Wyoming Highway Patrol, and the District Transportation and Facilities Departments. Travel advisories such as no unnecessary travel help the District in making these tough calls. Late starts are considered but are only effective if there is a guarantee that weather conditions will improve. It’s not worth the risk for our kids and employees.
Here are the District Snow Day Procedures as listed in all District handbooks:
On days when it seems imminent that schools may be closed due to inclement weather, including severe snow storms, please listen to local radio stations for an announcement regarding a school Snow Day.
If schools are closed due to a Snow Day, the decision will be made prior to 7:00 a.m. by District officials; and the radio stations identified above will announce the decision by 7:00 a.m. Â If students are to come to school on a wintry day, please insure their safety by providing the proper clothing for Wyoming winters.
In addition to the procedure, the District has many other communication avenues. Community members and parents are strongly encouraged to sign up for the SchoolWay app and Crisis Manager app if they haven’t already. Directions to install can be found at sweetwater1.org, under the School Safety link in the Information Links section.  Other communication includes: School Messenger (phone system), text messaging, email, the School District Website, Facebook, and all mediate services. Individual schools sent out further communication to ensure all attempts are made to reach families.
In Wyoming Statute 21-4-301, public schools must operate its schools and classes a minimum of 175 school days each year unless an alternative schedule has been approved by the State Board of Education. Additionally, Chapter 22 of the Wyoming Department of Education Rules and Regulations, states that school districts must maintain minimum hours based on school type as well. This includes 900 instructional hours for elementary students, 1,050 for middle school/junior high students, and 1,100 for high school students. Unforeseen school closures of ½ day or more in a given school year must be made up.
It has been a long winter to say the least!
4. What are your responsibilities as a superintendent?
I am responsible for the daily operation of all District schools and departments. My duties include the implementation of all District policies and procedures approved by the Board of Trustees, safety, and educational development and achievement for students.
5. What are the upcoming changes for teaching standards and standardized tests?
Math standards are on the forefront for revision and updating at the State level. The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) is asking for volunteers who are interested in serving on the Wyoming Math Standards Review
Committee. The committee begins work this summer through WDE. Â Math standards outline what students should know and be able to do at the end of each grade level and by the time they graduate. Standards lay the ground work for what outcomes and objectives should be taught.
The Wyoming State Board of Education (SBE) voted to replace the current Proficiency Assessment for Wyoming (PAWS) and will no longer be administered as Wyoming’s statewide summative assessment. A new set of statewide
summative and interim assessments will be administered for grades 1-10 by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and will measure Wyoming Content and Performance Standards in an online learning format. The AIR
assessment will be given in spring 2018. The new tests are planned to provide almost immediate feedback to students, teachers, and parents.  The new statewide assessment is slated to take less time than PAWS.
The State board also voted to continue Wyoming’s assessment contract with ACT Inc. to measure college readiness and WorkKeys to measure career readiness.
