Deadline approaching to file for K-12, college board seats
Aug. 24—CHEYENNE — As the deadline to file for open K-12 school district and college board seats approaches, more than a dozen candidates have already thrown their hats in the ring.
Monday, Aug. 29, is the last day to file for board of trustees positions for Laramie County School District 1, Laramie County School District 2 and Laramie County Community College. Candidates will face one another in the Nov. 8 general election.
All board positions are unpaid and nonpartisan, and terms last for four years.
Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee predicted more filings would be coming this week, "especially now that the primary (election is) over." The list of candidates was most recently updated Friday evening.
Hopefuls can find applications for each position at elections.laramiecountyclerk.com/candidates-corner/. Applications can be filed at the county clerk's office in person, sent by email (PDF, minimum 300 DPI) to election@laramiecountywy.gov with the subject line "Candidate filing," or sent by fax to 307-633-4240.
LCSD1 Board of Trustees
The LCSD1 board voted unanimously in October 2020 to transform three of its at-large seats into residence-area seats. The boundaries of these three seats loosely reflect the district's three triads, according to previous reporting.
The vote followed months of controversy surrounding the proposal, with supporters saying it would help promote diversity among board members. Some parents at the time said they hoped having a board member from their area would help them feel more connected with the school board, and that area-specific board members would be more familiar with the needs of students from that triad.
Lee said Tuesday that there were four total open spots on the seven-member board: three area-specific seats and one at-large seat. Incumbents Marguerite Herman, Christy Klaassen, Rose Ann Million Rinne and Rich Wiederspahn have not yet filed for re-election.
Herman won last week's Democratic primary for the House District 11 seat in the Wyoming Legislature against former lawmaker James Byrd, who represented House District 44 from 2009 to 2019. She will face Republican incumbent Rep. Jared Olsen in the general election.
Joseph Ramirez and Susan Edgerton have filed so far for Area 1, which roughly lines up with the South triad. In Area 2, which is the north-central part of the district, or roughly the East triad, sole candidate Maurina Venturelli has filed. Todd Reynolds and Michelle Tonacchio have filed to run in Area 3, which is the western section of the district, or roughly the Central triad.
As of Tuesday, the four candidates vying for a single at-large seat are Rene R. Hinkle, Lilia Olejnik, Jenefer Pasqua and Joe Plowman.
All candidates list addresses in Cheyenne.
LCSD2 Board of Trustees
The nine-member Laramie County School District 2 board has three open at-large seats, Lee said. Incumbents Russell Fornstrom, Taft Love and Jeff Kirkbride have not yet filed to run.
Two new candidates, Cody Nusbaum of Cheyenne and Kendra Roeder of Pine Bluffs, have so far filed for these seats.
LCSD2 Trustee Billie Wilson of Burns, who represents Area D — known as the Burns/Hillsdale area — has filed for re-election. As of Tuesday, she was the sole candidate for that seat.
LCCC Board of Trustees
Three of seven positions on Laramie County Community College's Board of Trustees are up for grabs this year. Incumbent Janine Thompson of Cheyenne has filed for re-election, while two other incumbents, Brenda Lyttle and Carol Merrell, have not.
Lyttle recently announced her candidacy as an independent for House District 8. She will run against Republican candidate Dave Zwonitzer, who previously represented House District 9 from 2007 to 2017.
A new candidate running for the LCCC board is Joe Kelly of Cheyenne.
Hannah Black is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's criminal justice reporter. She can be reached at hblack@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3128. Follow her on Twitter at @hannahcblack.
