Wyoming School Board Elections Near, Prop 1 Opposition Widens, and the Superintendent Race Turns on Vouchers
Three weeks from Election Day, school governance is on the ballot across Wyoming. Albany County voters will reshape most of their school board, the property-tax fight has pulled in the community colleges, and the race for superintendent of public instruction is now a two-way contest — with both candidates opposed to school vouchers. Here is what matters this morning, in about five minutes.
Six of nine Albany County school board seats are on the November 3 ballot. Voters in Albany County will decide six of nine school board seats next month, one of the largest turnover moments of any Wyoming district this cycle. Detailed candidate profiles published by The Laramie Reporter show board chair Beth Bear seeking reelection in Area A against challengers including Abe Lentner; vice chair Carrie Murthy running for a two-year term against former teacher James Learned; and Area B incumbent Bob Bowers facing a write-in challenge from Sara Roberts. State parental-rights notification mandates, the new law ending gun-free school zones, literacy, and the district's free meals for all students are among the dividing lines. (Source: The Laramie Reporter, school board candidate profiles, Oct. 6–8, 2026)
Proposition 1 opposition widens as community colleges tally the cost. The anti–Proposition 1 coalition keeps growing: Central Wyoming College's board of trustees and the Wyoming Association of Community College Trustees — representing all eight colleges — formally voted to oppose the 50% primary-residence property tax exemption. The trustees estimate roughly $4 million in additional annual deficits across the college system, on top of about $13 million already lost to prior property tax changes. About 72% of property tax collections went to education in fiscal 2025, and the exemption is projected to cut state revenue by about $92.6 million in fiscal 2028 alone. Voters decide on November 3. (Sources: Central Wyoming College / Wyoming Association of Community College Trustees; Lovell Chronicle; WiseVoter, Oct. 7, 2026)
Superintendent race: Harshman faces Cordova, and both oppose vouchers. Early voting is underway, and the superintendent of public instruction race is now Republican Steve Harshman versus Democrat Ana Cordova on the November 3 general election ballot. Harshman — longtime Casper legislator and former Natrona County teacher and coach — opposed the Steamboat Legacy Scholarship voucher program in the Legislature and calls himself 'public school Steve.' Whichever candidate wins, the state's top education officeholder is expected to oppose universal vouchers — notable given about 3,400 students have been approved for $7,000-per-student Steamboat Legacy accounts while the constitutional lawsuit remains pending. (Sources: wyoroundup.com; Wyoming Tribune Eagle; WiseVoter, Oct. 2, 2026)
Seven weeks in, Douglas teachers call the new phone policy 'life changing.' Converse County's new student cellphone policy — adopted to meet state law — is getting an unusually enthusiastic report card. Seven weeks in, Douglas teachers report zero phones confiscated on day one, only one third violation so far, fewer students lingering in hallways, and noticeably better focus in class. With other Wyoming districts still calibrating their own policies under the state mandate, Douglas is becoming the early proof of concept. (Source: wyomingnews.com / Casper Star-Tribune, Oct. 2026)
On the board agenda this week: the Campbell County School District board meets Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 6:00 p.m. in Wright — the agenda includes an update on the Wyoming Supreme Court's school-funding ruling and governance policy approvals. The Select Committee on School Finance Recalibration meets in Casper on Oct. 21–22, where the Legislature's response to the court ruling begins to take shape.
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Sponsored by Wolf Scholarship
.Today's reporting is brought to you by Wolf Scholarship — the Wide Open Learning Fund, a Wyoming nonprofit providing need-based scholarships that send Wyoming K-12 students to educational travel programs, academic competitions, and leadership experiences. A proud sponsor of School Board News. Learn more at wolfscholarship.org.
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