ROCK SPRINGS — The Sweetwater County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees adopted a new public participation policy during Monday’s meeting.

The policy sets “reasonable limits on content for public comment and discussion.” It allows for comments on school operations, programs and other items directly related to the school district while giving the chairman the ability to limit comment to matters related “to the Board’s business, including policy, programming, operations and other issues of current relevance.”  It prohibits comments regarding the performance of employment of individual district employees, while items involving personnel issues will be redirected to the appropriate district policies.

Chairman Cole Wright said the policy was recommended by the district’s attorney, citing legal challenges in Wyoming and federal decisions. Wright said the policy doesn’t violate a person’s freedom of speech and is consistent with state legal standings. 

“I would say that the board has had a lengthy discussion on this,” Wright said. 

He said the district is working on an infographic to help someone learn the chain of communication they should utilize for their specific concerns as well as links to pages with further information. He said if the process results in a decision someone wants to appeal, there is a process to bring it to the school board. 

“We are very interested in hearing from the public,” Wright said. “This change is really related to evaluative statements – that affects not just negative or concerns … it also impacts positives.”

He said the board doesn’t want to limit voices, but makes sure concerns are routed appropriately.

The policy was approved unanimously, with Trustee Danielle Schumacher absent from the meeting.

Land Purchase Notice

This district will buy land for the new Rock Springs High School building according to brief discussion during the school board meeting Monday.

The district will buy 124.45 acres from the Bureau of Land Management at a price of $10 per acre. The whole land transaction will cost $1,244.50. The land is located where the district’s Satellite High School, Stage Coach Elementary, Sage Elementary, and Pilot Butte Elementary are located. 

“I was unaware that the land over there for the new high school and facilities hadn’t actually made it through the formal process of being purchased,” Wright said.