Johnson County school board to go from nine to seven trustees

BUFFALO (WNE) — Four instead of six Johnson County School District No. 1 board of trustee positions will need to be filled this November election after the State Board of Education approved a proposal to reduce the board’s size.

The Wyoming State Board of Education voted in a special session on May 7 to approve proposals from Johnson County School District No. 1 and Niobrara County School District No. 1 to move from nine to seven members. 

The meeting was called so changes on the two counties’ ballots could be made in time for the May 11 filing deadline. This was the first time in Wyoming history that the board has been asked to consider this kind of proposal.

Johnson County School District No. 1 has discussed reducing the board’s size for several years, and after initiating the process earlier this year, has heard mixed interpretations on what that process is supposed to look like because the state statute is not explicit. 

Based on the district and Niobrara County School District No. 1’s interpretation of statute, the districts first brought their requests before their county’s boundary boards, and once they received approval, brought those boundary board proposals before the board of education. Wyoming School Board Association Executive Director Brian Farmer said during the special session that the lack of clarity about the process is a result of changes in statute after a landmark case, Campbell County School District v. State, in which a judge ruled that the state was constitutionally required to provide a uniform system of public education. 

There are five-, seven- and nine-member boards in the state, and they’ve been largely unchanged since 1970 when they were established, Farmer said.

In the application, both districts said their main reason for the change was the challenge of filling a nine-member board.

This story was published on May 14, 2026.