House kills partisan school board bill

CHEYENNE — School board races in Wyoming will remain nonpartisan, despite an effort to require candidates to register and declare their affiliation with one party or another.

The House of Representatives voted 38-23 against Senate File 98, “School board trustees-party affiliation,” on third reading Tuesday. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne, would have required that the political party of a candidate for school board trustee be printed on the general election ballot beginning July 1.

SF 98 had been amended to include Independent as a possible party affiliation, after at first being limited to Republican and Democratic affiliation.

The bill made it through three readings in the Senate and two legislative committees, where members of organizations like the Wyoming School Boards Association and the Equality State Policy Center testified against the measure.

On the House floor Tuesday, many lawmakers also spoke in opposition to SF 98.

“I served two terms on the school board for the kids, not for politics,” freshman lawmaker Rep. Pam Thayer, R-Rawlins, said.

School boards face challenges that are nonpartisan in nature, she said, that relate to policy making, budget and supervision. “School boards are motivated to prioritize students’ interest and local challenges … and not finding themselves embroiled in partisan politics,” Thayer said.

Rep. Bob Davis, R-Baggs, said he didn’t want to see “partisan voting down the line,” and Rep. Cody Wylie, R-Rock Springs, said candidates for school boards should be selected based on merit, rather than the letter by their name.

Rep. Lloyd Larsen, R-Lander, pointed out that federal employees are not allowed to hold partisan offices, meaning many in Wyoming who could serve in a capable capacity would be prevented from doing so should SF 98 pass.

“We have one really good member of our school board who works for a federal agency who would not be able to run for school board with a partisan election,” Larsen said. “He was key in getting our school board to adopt policy to allow teachers to carry firearms. I really don’t think that would have happened without him.”

Speaking in favor of SF 98, Rep. Ocean Andrew, R-Laramie, argued that partisan labels in school board elections could increase voter turnout, and said that SF 98 simply acknowledges partisan politics are already in play in Wyoming schools.

Rep. Nina Webber, R-Cody, made a similar argument.

“School boards have decided if there is going to be pornography in the library, if boys can play girls’ sports, if girls can play in boys’ sports, if school-aged kids will wear a mask, if they are required to have a vaccine, even what bathroom to use,” Webber said.

This story was published on February 26, 2025.