ROCK SPRINGS – It was a night of new starts, new beginnings and saying goodbye at the Sweetwater County School District No. 1 board meeting.
On Monday, the district said goodbye to Transportation Director Pete Rust as he starts a new chapter in his life as Mayor of Green River. Rust started with the district in September of 1997 and has headed the Transportation Department for 17 years.
Rust said he had a great bunch of employees who really deserve the credit.
“It’s been 17 years and 16 million miles,” Rust said. “No one had to go to the hospital and there were no fatalities. They are great and I’m going to miss them.”
Rust also said the district as a whole has been great to work with. He expressed it is an “exciting time” for the district with a new superintendent and many new principals. Rust added the district is really focused on improving student performance as well as putting student safety at the top of the list,
“I think there are a lot of reasons for the community to be optimistic,” Rust said of the district.
While Rust said goodbye, a new board member officially took his seat on Monday. Paul Kauchich was picked by the board to fill the seat vacated by Randall Wendling who resigned from the board to take a seat on the Sweetwater County Commission.
Kauchich said he joins the board without any personal agendas but a desire to help the district. For Kauchich, he said he will spend the first few months doing a lot of listening while also learning as much as possible about the district, the way the district works and the issues facing the district.
Student Teachers
Also during the Monday meeting, the student teachers and their mentors throughout the district were introduced to the board. Not only were the student teachers from the University of Wyoming introduced but also the students teachers from other colleges. It was explained the students teachers from other colleges are mainly online students, non-traditional students and most are residents of the community. Several of these student teachers introduced are already working in the district.
