Ten Sleep school board mulls over WSBA firearm resolutions

At the monthly board meeting, the Wyoming School Boards Association (WSBA) delegate from Ten Sleep – board member Bill Murphy – requested advice from Superintendent Annie Griffin on how to proceed with voting on resolutions at the upcoming WSBA Conference in Casper on Nov. 20-22.

The issues under scrutiny in these resolutions include staff carrying of firearms, a relevant topic for Ten Sleep’s school district.

Considering discussion following the 2024 Legislative Session over House Bill 0125, a bill that failed to pass that would have repealed gun-free zones in Wyoming, three of the six resolutions to be discussed at the WSBA Annual Conference will be about employees possessing firearms in schools. Griffin said, “The concern is that unless something like this is not adopted, legislators might decide to come forward with a bill such as before, and schools would not have the ability to govern this matter over their own employees.”

Resolution 2026.1 states, “Local Wyoming school boards should maintain the authority to exercise local control over whether or not to create and enact a concealed carry rule.” As the superintendent of one of the few Wyoming school districts that has policy allowing staff to concealed carry firearms, Griffin recommended supporting this resolution.

Resolution 2026.2 again supports keeping the regulation of employee firearms up to the discretion of local school boards, and covers circumstances should something like House Bill 0125 ever pass. This resolution has a clause saying that if gun-free zones were repealed, an amendment should be made to the statute ‘Possession of firearms on school property’ to let school districts maintain control over who can have a firearm on school grounds. Griffin also recommended supporting this.

The third, Resolution 2026.3 expands on proposed changes if those reflected in Resolution 2026.2 come into effect. This includes limiting employee firearm carrying to those authorized by the district, but also would require those staff members to present their concealed carry permit. At the time of the meeting, Griffin was unsure about how her district would enforce the presenting of permits, and told WSBA voting delegate Murphy that he should listen to conversations about the resolution at the conference and then vote according to the best interest of his district.

SUPERINTENDENT REPORT

Griffin said that final cleaning of the new Ten Sleep School is underway in preparation to move in December. The central stairs of the building are getting carpeted, and the back of the stairs is getting laminate installed.

An irrigation system is being installed for the school’s landscaping and playing fields, and grass sod will be rolled out in the coming weeks. Griffin spoke about an issue with an existing well on school grounds that was intended to be capped and no longer used, but it was determined if repairs were made it would provide adequate flow to serve the new school’s irrigation needs. Griffin said she will move forward with the well if further water quality and other testing show that it would be worth fixing its leaks and using it.

POLICY

The following policies were under review, and passed on first and final reading with no changes:

Policy 8.01 – Transportation Services, Policy 8.02 – Isolation and Policy 8.03 – Hot Lunch Services.

The following policies were approved on first reading with changes:

Policy 1.19 – Drug Free Workplace. Language in this policy was reviewed by the district’s legal team, and revisions have been made to bring it up to par legally.

Policy 4.01 – Employment at Will, Suspension, and Termination. This policy regarding classified staff was amended to address the scenario of suspension or termination, adding that a suspension shall be reported to the school board by the Superintendent and the person suspended is subject to action taken by the board regarding their employment. A sentence was also adjusted to say that in addition classified staff being subject to termination without cause, the district is not obligated to provide a reason or hearing regarding suspension or termination.

Policy 3.43 – Family Medical Leave Act was approved on second reading with no changes from the first reading. The initial change removed a line that read, “The district DOES NOT reimburse certified staff for unused annual or sick leave days upon separation of termination or employment.”

A staff Christmas gift that includes a $25 amount of Worland-Ten Sleep Chamber of Commerce ‘Chamber Bucks’ to be given to employees was approved on third and final reading.