Our Community Vision & What We Are/Are Not Saying

If you haven’t signed the petition yet, there’s still time. While the initial signatures are in the hands of a community member preparing to file, we can continue adding names and showing broader support.

A Community Mission Statement

This may be the most important and also the most challenging change to make. Our community needs to clearly define its goals for the district.

If the purpose of our education system is to educate, then we have to be clear about what we want students to learn—and how we want them to learn it. Communities like Meeteetse, Wyoming have gone through this process. There, the community chose to prioritize problem-based learning, and the school system adapted to support that mission. Their focus is simple: Life Ready. Are graduates prepared for the real world? Do they have the skills to succeed on whatever path comes next? They made a conscious decision not to chase test scores, but to concentrate on what kids actually need and as a result, test scores rose. They also emphasize practical skills like personal finance and interviewing, things students will need after high school.

As a result, classrooms there look very different from the ones many of us grew up in, and that shift is making a real difference for students.

So we need to ask ourselves what is our mission for the youth of Natrona county? Not one families mission but the community as a whole. We need to get together in a town hall setting and agree to a clear mission moving forward for our district. Then it is up to the board and leadership to create goals for themselves on how to get there.

Reform

It has become clear that Natrona County needs a reset. The current leadership is not meeting the needs of our students or our community. We continue to hear concerns from teachers, administrators, and many members of the public.

At the same time, we want to be careful not to assume we speak for every educator or community member. Instead, we can look to the evidence in front of us. Leadership does not appear to be meeting the needs of students or families, as demonstrated by the massive and unprecedented decline in enrollment—a decline so large it strains credibility to attribute it solely to population changes. Casper’s streets, neighborhoods, and activities remain full.

The clearer explanation is that parents are choosing educational environments that better align with their values and priorities: charter schools, virtual programs, private education, and homeschooling. Families are not leaving our community. They are leaving a system they no longer feel connected to or confident in.

For too long, leadership positions have been treated as protected entitlements rather than roles of deep responsibility. Real transparency does not just expose corruption or dysfunction; it exposes patterns. And one of the patterns emerging in our district is the revolving door leadership cycle that benefits adults but harms kids.

There is an unspoken practice across Natrona County: superintendents often stay only long enough to secure the three years required to lock in their highest pension tier. The timing of our current superintendent aligns exactly with that pattern. When leadership becomes a pension strategy instead of a long-term investment in the community, we lose continuity, we lose trust, and we lose progress.

This same cycle is playing out at the building level. Elementary principals in particular are rotating so frequently that parents barely learn a name before it changes again. Students, especially our youngest learners, lose the stability and connection that are essential for their emotional and academic development. Families are left wondering who, if anyone, is steering their school with long term commitment.

Once the community has full transparency and once a clear, community defined mission is established, it becomes necessary to identify the individuals who are blocking progress or creating division between the public and the education system. Those individuals, regardless of title, must be replaced with leaders who are committed to staying, who believe in the community’s mission, and who have the stamina and the skill to implement real solutions at every level.

If Natrona County is serious about rebuilding trust, restoring stability, and truly serving students, we cannot afford to keep recycling the same leadership patterns

What We Are and Are Not Saying

We are not calling for the education system to be dismantled. We are saying that the current system has become corrupted in ways that are often unintentional and gradual. This is not a personal attack on any one person or group. It is an acknowledgment that systems, over time, can drift away from their original purpose.

The most effective response to corruption is transparency. Now more than ever, we need a major increase in the level of transparency available to the public so that everyone can clearly see what the problems are and work together to address them.

We also recognize that this process can be humbling. It is difficult to admit that there are problems and to resist the instinct to shift blame. However, openly acknowledging flaws and taking responsibility will go a long way in rebuilding trust with the public.

We fully understand the importance of a strong education system. At the same time, our community should have a greater voice in the direction we are heading. We are not saying that there should be no guardrails. Guardrails are important for both the community and the district. What we are saying is that both sides should sit down together to define those guardrails in a fair and collaborative way.