[Editor’s Note: This article was updated to reflect that Sweetwater County School District No. 1 has finalized a deadline for letters of intent and announced a special meeting for interviews and candidate selection]
ROCK SPRINGS — The Sweetwater County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees responded to Dr. Cole Seppie’s resignation from the board, thanking him for his service and saying it is aware of “pending complaints involving Trustee Seppie.”
Chairman Cole Wright emailed a statement to SweetwaterNOW late Wednesday morning after it reported on Dr. Seppie’s resignation Tuesday evening.
“The Board has received Trustee Seppies’s resignation and thanks him for his service to the District and community. The Board will follow state law to fill the vacancy within 30 days and will announce the deadline for letters of interest and the date of the special meeting once those details are finalized,” the board statement read. “The Board is aware of pending complaints involving Trustee Seppie, including the concerns that he raised himself. Those matters are being handled through established, independent processes, and out of respect for confidentiality, will not comment further. Please know, the Board takes all matters submitted to them seriously and remains focused on maintaining the integrity of that process. Moreover, the Board is committed to continuing to place focus on the important work of serving students, district staff and the community at large.”
In his resignation letter, Dr. Seppie mentioned a hostile work environment, citing experiences of opposition and retaliation.
“Unfortunately, my time on the board has been met with opposition, retaliation and has become an unhealthy work environment with no signs of improving,” he wrote in his letter.
As Wright notes, the district’s board will accept letters of interest from residents within the district at a future date. During the process to fill a vacancy created by Kari Cochran when she resigned last year, the district sought letters of interest, then hosted a special meeting allowing the board to interview candidates and select a replacement. Trustee Josh Sorensen was selected to replace Cochran at the end of that process. He was initially one of four people who had submitted a letter of interest, but the other three ended up rescinding their letters, leaving him as the only candidate.
UPDATE: The school district will accept letters of interest from residents interested in serving on the board until 11:30 a.m. Nov. 14. A special meeting will take place Nov. 17 at 7 p.m., which will feature an executive session to allow the board a chance to interview candidates. The board will appoint a replacement for Dr. Seppie at that special meeting. That candidate will fill the position through November 2026, where a special election for the unexpired portion of the term will take place during the November Election.
