SF104 referendum misses ballot

Due to a lack of statewide supporter signatures, the referendum to repeal Senate File 104 will not be put on the ballot for 2014.

The State Central Committee of the Wyoming Republican Party passed a resolution to endorse the referendum to appeal SF104 on April 6. The referendum sought to repeal 2013 Senate Enrolled Act No. 1 (the law resulting from the passage of SF104), which amended the duties of, and transferred specific duties from, the state superintendent of public instruction to the newly created director of the state department of education.

By May 28, the state of Wyoming needed to have 37,606 signatures (with Carbon County alone needing 2,000 of those) supporting the referendum on statewide petitions. If enough signatures were attained, the referendum would have been on the 2014 ballot.

Dr. Taylor Haynes, president and chief medical officer for Mountain Benefit Management Corporation in Cheyenne, a candidate for governor and a strong supporter of the referendum. He spoke out on SF104 at the Platte Valley Christian Center in Saratoga May 4.

“While the referendum effort to put SF104 on the 2014 ballot may have failed in the short term, it definitely did not fail in getting our attention,” Haynes said. “Parents and teachers have a right to decide how and what our children are taught, and Senate Bill SF104 permanently scrapped our power to direct education through an elected Superintendent of Public Education. The Governor and his supporting Legislators gave all that power to a very highly-paid employee, hired and directed by one person, the Governor. In driving the passage of that bill they chose to fight the people of Wyoming rather than protect us from political abuses, and those actions undermine our confidence in their will or ability to protect any of our rights.”

Platte Valley residents such as Jen Maskell, Carl and Carol Lee and Rusty Rogers helped with trying to gain signatures on petitions supporting the referendum. Petition stations were set up at locations including both Shively Hardware locations, Family Dollar, the Saratoga Library, the Encampment Library, and Aspen Sky Merchants.

“I commend the members of the Constitution Party, who had the courage to initiate and organize this referendum drive, and thanks to their substantial efforts, particularly those of Jennifer Young, the petition organizer, this drive really was non-partisan,” Haynes said. “Sponsors, supporters and signers included members of the Wyoming Constitution, Republican and Democrat political parties, as well as Independents, and local businesses gave petition carriers space to work in. We should recognize and thank all those who gave generously of their goodwill, time, money and personal effort for the collection of signatures. Thanks to all these folks we’re all talking to each other about the issue.”

SF104 will establish an appointed bureaucrat who would assume most of the duties currently performed by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, according to a Wyoming Department of Eduation press release and will transfer specific duties from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to the Director of the State Department of Education.

The Wyoming State Board of Education recently named three interviewed finalists who could hold the position of Director of the Wyoming Department of Education, but a candidate has not been chosen as of yet. The finalists include Tony Apostle, a retired superintendent of Puyallup Public Schools in Puyallup, Wash.; Norman Ridder, a current superintendent of Springfield Public Schools in Springfield, Mo; and Richard Crandall, CEO and CFO of CN Resources and Crandall Corporate Dieticians in Mesa, Ariz. Crandall is also the current State Senator in Arizona and the past chair of the Arizona Senate and House Education Committees.