Parents do WSBA's job

Within days of deciding on three final candidates for the Superintendent of Carbon County School District No. 2, the list had dwindled to one.

Even though parents were not involved in the selection process, they took it upon themselves to research the candidates listed on the CCSD#2 website.

That research led to parents contacting the Saratoga Sun about a candidate who was the subject of a newspaper story for questionable ethics in handling of funds.

The history of one candidate led us to research the other prospective superintendents.

The internet makes it easier to research candidates applying for high-profile positions, especially those who have worked with public funds.

We found that another candidate had been taking large pay raises for himself while teachers salaries were being cut.

As a school district that spreads across the eastern part of the third largest county in the state of Wyoming, it is important to ensure that these schools have a superintendent with the vision to see what is best for this set of collective schools.

Parents of students have a vested interest—as they should. Their children’s future depends on it.

The Saratoga Sun appreciates both the parent’s research and their notifying us of their findings.

We also applaud the Carbon County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees for taking quick action and calling an unheard-of Sunday meeting to address this issue.

School districts in Wyoming have a distinctive set of circumstances with a sparse population across a vast area. Over the decades, many smaller districts in Wyoming have been consolidated into larger districts which creates new problems in administering even more distant schools.

The school district hired the Wyoming School Board Association (WSBA) to find the best group of candidates for this superintendent position.

CCSD#2 paid $6,000 to the WSBA for this service. In October, CCSD#2 agreed to hire WSBA. This gave the WSBA more than three months to find suitable candidates for a position in this school district.

Two of the three names submitted have had to be removed from consideration. At the very least, we feel CCSD#2 should demand their money back from the WSBA.