Goshen County School District #1 board approves 2024–25 calendar, Leader in Me contract and a package of vendor purchases; defends superintendent

The Goshen County School District #1 Board of Trustees on April 16 approved the 2024–25 school calendar, a multi‑year professional‑development contract to expand the Leader in Me program districtwide and a slate of facility and technology purchases, after a public forum that included both strong endorsements and objections to the Leader in Me vendor.

The board’s actions followed a district presentation on literacy interventions and progress monitoring and a public comment period in which Tony Gard urged trustees to reject contracting with Franklin Covey—citing language he described as tied to diversity, equity and inclusion—and several teachers and parents, including Monica Anderson, defended the Leader in Me curriculum as a set of leadership habits and life skills appropriate for students.

Why it matters: The contract will extend implementation of the Leader in Me program across the district, and administrators said the vendor services are covered by a grant described in the packet. Trustees also approved purchases and contracts for health insurance, asbestos abatement, demolition oversight, concrete projects, technology licenses and other routine items; several of those approvals include capital or grant funding and planned construction timelines.

Board discussion and public testimony

Public commenters split over the Leader in Me vendor and associated DEI language on vendor websites. Tony Gard told the board the vendor’s stated commitments to ‘‘inclusivity’’ and training represented an ideological approach the board should reject. ‘‘This is a conspiracy theory … this is what we’re inviting when we play with DEI,’’ Gard said during public comment.

In contrast, Monica Anderson, a teacher and Southeast Elementary Lighthouse co‑facilitator, told trustees she had reviewed the curriculum and materials used in district classrooms and found ‘‘nothing within the curriculum that would expose students to anything other than strong habits of life.’’ She urged trustees to approve funding so all students could benefit.

Administrators described how Leader in Me is being used at Southeast and how schools control lesson content. A district presenter said teachers can choose which lessons students see and noted schools that already use the program have reported benefits including reduced absenteeism and improved student behavior.

Calendar, staffing and implementation details

Trustees approved the 2024–25 school calendar as presented. Administration explained that intervention Fridays will typically be scheduled on the third Friday of each month, intervention time on those days will extend from eight to ten hours for certified staff, and the regular work day on the other four workdays will be increased by 15 minutes (an 8.25‑hour day) so the total intervention time is maintained. The administration said it would attempt to accommodate staff scheduling requests but that some staffing on intervention days may still be required depending on student needs.

Procurements and other approvals

Key approvals on the consent and new‑business agenda included:
- Contracting with Franklin Covey (Leader in Me) for district professional development, materials, implementation training and consulting at a revised total of $383,899; the district packet lists funding from a ‘‘Stronger Connections’’ grant.
- Renewal of district health insurance with Wyoming Educators Benefit Trust (WEBT) for 2024–25.
- Contracting with Abby Environmental Management for asbestos abatement management and bidding oversight for the THS tech ed building ($33,860), funded by capital construction funds, with scheduled abatement to occur in coordination with demolition before the next school year.
- Contracting with JEO Architecture for bidding coordination and construction administration for demolition of the THS tech ed building and the Little House (architect fee not to exceed $26,500); the bid/award for the demolition contractor will return to the board for approval.
- Approvals for multiple maintenance and equipment purchases, including district concrete projects (approximately $67,400), Kajit SmartBus internet license renewals (68 licenses, total in packet ~ $24,624), IP cellular devices for fire panel conversion (nine devices, roughly $17,377) and other building and classroom items listed in the packet.

Personnel and personnel‑process matters

The board accepted several resignations and approved offering teaching contracts and renewals for the 2024–25 school year, and approved an administrator contract offer for Allan Van Tilberg as Torington High School principal and the rehiring of a retired district employee as a halftime coordinator under district policy.

Separately, trustees addressed a sensitive personnel allegation received by email about Superintendent Mr Kramer. The board said trustees conducted an informal review that included video surveillance and firsthand accounts from a regional basketball tournament and ‘‘unanimously found that our superintendent acted within the parameters of his position.’’ The board stated it stands behind Mr Kramer and requested respectful caution when circulating allegations that could affect an educator’s career. A board member also raised concern that the personnel‑related email had been printed and shared publicly by a board member to a former trustee and then distributed in the community; the board voted to enter executive session to discuss the personnel/confidentiality matter.

What’s next

The board scheduled a special meeting and a work session on salary relations and other committee meetings as listed in the packet. The Leader in Me contract and other procurement approvals were adopted as presented; demolition and abatement work will proceed to bidding and later contractor award stages required by the board.

Votes at a glance (as recorded in the meeting)
- 2024–25 school calendar: approved (voice vote as presented).
- Franklin Covey (Leader in Me) professional development contract, total $383,899 (funding: grant per packet): approved (voice vote as presented).
- Abby Environmental Management asbestos abatement ($33,860): approved.
- JEO Architecture demolition bidding/CA (not to exceed $26,500): approved.
- Multiple other purchases and renewals (health insurance WEBT; Kajit SmartBus licenses; concrete projects; fire‑panel conversion; instructional supplies): approved. (Individual tallies not transcribed in the packet excerpt.)

Reported spelling and name clarifications

The district materials in the packet refer throughout to the Leader in Me curriculum and list a vendor identified in the packet as Franklin Covey (appearing in the transcript as ‘‘Franklin cubby’’/‘‘Franklin Covey’’). The district name in the packet and in public comments is Goshen County School District #1; some spoken references in the transcript used phonetic variants (e.g., "Goan"). The board packet lists vendor and grant names that administrators said support the listed contract amounts.

The meeting adjourned for an executive session on personnel/confidentiality matters.