ROCK SPRINGS – The Sweetwater County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees has a new chairman in Cole Wright, with trustees Danielle Schumacher becoming the new vice chair, Josh Sorensen the treasurer, and Anjelica Wood the new clerk. The selection process also served to highlight the board’s desire to step away from how it operated in the past.

The board votes on these assignments each December, with members voting to serve in those leadership positions for one-year terms. The group was elected by the larger board Monday evening. Wright previously served as the board’s clerk during the previous year. 

Dr. Chad Franks nominated Sorensen for chairman, while Wood nominated Wright. 

Sorensen said he thinks any of the seven board members would make a great chairman for the board, saying he would be happy if Wright was elected to the role. He wanted to see the board discuss what it needed before settling on a chairman. Wright said the members serving for the past two years have been working on changing the culture within the board and district, believing that change will trickle down to the staff and students. 

“Ultimately, culture shift in and of itself is going to increase test scores, increase graduation rates, increase motivation to be at school, increase teacher retention,” he said.

Wright said he understands there are other changes board members want to make, saying the board needs to take a strategic approach to what it wants to do, focus on improving transparency and communication, and involve the community. He said the resulting diversity of opinions would then help the board address the other changes board members want to see.

Schumacher said she agrees with what Wright said, saying she believes everyone on the board has good intentions. She said the last two years had a lot of ups and downs, saying there were “some really crazy moments where you question it.” She said she came back from that thought with the reflection of if that’s how trustees are feeling, she had to imagine how district employees were feeling as well. 

“That is really why I believe that is why we stick it out, I think that’s why we are here is ultimately to be able to have that reflect on our teachers, who then can also reflect on our students,” she said.

Both Wright and Schumacher said Superintendent Joseph Libby is having a positive impact on the district since being hired. Schumacher said there’s been changes implemented that may not be visible to the public, but have had impacts on employees.

Sorensen said he wouldn’t send “a nasty email” to another trustee or a community member, with Wright readily agreeing he wouldn’t do that as well.  

Dr. Franks said there were a few years where the board was one-sided, saying it didn’t function as a board, saying the current group needs to function as a group that has each other’s backs and learn from one another. Franks said the board wants parents, teachers and the community involved because that is how people learn from one another.

“That’s where we need to come from in this aspect and depending on who we choose, there is not a wrong answer,” Dr. Franks said. “No matter who wins, we got your back.”

Franks said we live in a society of instant gratification and asked for time to change the direction the district is headed because the change won’t happen overnight.

The vote was mostly separated between the newly-elected board members and those who were already on the board. Those voting for Wright were Wright, Wood, Schumacher, and Matt Gardner, with members voting for Sorensen being Sorensen, Dr. Cole Seppie, and Dr. Franks.

When selecting for a vice chairperson, Schumacher and Sorensen were nominated for the position, though Sorensen admitted he was more interested in being the board’s treasurer. Schumacher received unanimous support from the board when they voted to place her in the position.

Both Sorensen and Wood were the only nominees for treasurer and clerk respectively, with both receiving unanimous support when the board voted on their placement.