EVANSTON — The Uinta County School District No. 1 board of trustees held a special meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 24, to discuss the potential reduction in board size and to let members of the public voice their opinion on the issue.

Seven members of the current nine-member board attended the meeting, at which superintendent Ryan Thomas shared the results of a community survey on the topic of board size. 

The survey is still active and accessible to the community; however, at the time of the meeting Thomas said there had been only 164 responses. Of those responses 59 percent supported reducing the board from nine to seven members, 31 percent supported keeping the current nine-member board, and 10 percent were undecided. 

Along with the discussion about survey results up to that point, trustees shared their personal thoughts on the proposed reduction. Chair Cassie Torres said she wanted to have a brainstorming discussion on the pros and cons of the proposal. 

As the most vocal proponent of reducing the board to seven members, trustee David Bennett said, “Well, my personal opinion sometimes isn’t worth a lot, but I, of course, am an opinionated person, and I think that nine people have gotten along okay. It hasn’t been a negative thing. I just think that if we had fewer members on the board that we become more efficient, more able to communicate. We usually only operate with seven anyway so let’s face the music and boil it down to seven.” 

Trustee Kim Bateman said she was not opposed to a seven-member board. However, she said, “Uinta County School District is the largest employer in Evanston, Wyoming, and nepotism is nepotism. We’re going to have it. We’ve got members who are on the board right now that have family members working for the school district. I think we need the diversity of a nine-member board.” 

Trustee Kay Fackrell also spoke against the reduction. Fackrell said he’d previously stated he was against it and that had not changed.

“To me,” he said, “this is Uinta County School District number one and we’re gonna change something again, just like we have for the last several years. We stand for change.” 

He added that he believes the school board is known for constant change and for never trying anything long enough to see if it works. Fackrell said he did not want to change the board size just for the sake of change.

Jami Brackin said she wanted to offer a point-counterpoint to Fackrell’s comments. She said that as an attorney who has represented boards she can attest to the fact that smaller boards are more efficient.

Brackin also said she didn’t agree that a smaller board would cause problems with representation. “In terms of getting representation for the community, we currently have three people representing the entire county and everybody seems to be okay with that. We have five people representing the city on the city council and everybody seems to be okay with that.” (Editor’s note: There are seven members on the Evanston City Council, including the mayor.) 

Chair Torres then spoke again and said she was in favor of keeping the board at nine members. “I think we would do a disservice if we eliminated two additional people and two additional voices that represent a lot more people than just us,” she said. 

Torres also said she was concerned about the other boards the school board has an obligation to, as the school board has members serving on the BOCES board and the Evanston Parks and Recreation board as well.

On more than one occasion, Bennett pointed out the lackluster public participation to that point. He said the relatively low numbers of people who had responded to the online survey and the low turnout at the public meeting showed that the decision was ultimately up to the board.

“It’s on our shoulders,” said Bennett. 

Only three community members took to the podium to express their views on the proposed board reduction. Julie Burleigh, former board member, said she opposed the reduction, based in part on concerns about other board commitments. 

Burleigh also brought up the fact that currently three members of the nine-member board are from the same family. If the board were reduced to seven, only four members would be required to have a quorum for voting purposes. Burleigh said she is concerned that would potentially allow one family to control district decisions. 

During a slightly heated exchange, Burleigh and Bennett discussed the possibility that four people would represent a quorum. Burleigh said with a smaller board it would be easier for someone with “an axe to grind” to influence decisions and that a larger board offers more opportunities to bounce ideas around.

Bennett at that point said, “That’s irrelevant,” to which Burleigh replied, “It’s not irrelevant, Mr. Bennett. It’s irrelevant because it’s not your opinion. … I’m a citizen and I pay taxes and I vote. Everyone in this community is a citizen and they pay taxes and they vote, and every one of us is relevant.”

Burleigh went on and said she believes it’s possible for trustees with an agenda to take advantage of a smaller board and shut down dissenting voices. 

“I’m saying if you go to a four quorum, I don’t think it’s a good idea, and your comment just solidified it,” said Burleigh. 

Burleigh also raised the question of who is up for re-election next year when, if this resolution were passed, only three positions would be available instead of five. Trustees whose terms are up next year include Torres, Bateman, Jenny Welling, Josh Welling and Kerby Barker. 

Resident Collette Lake spoke in favor of the reduction and said that communication would be easier with a smaller board.

“The community isn’t here,” she said, “because the community feels irrelevant as far as what the board decides.” She said that even when board meetings are well attended by the public, it has to be that way for months before the board responds. 

Lake also said she didn’t think considerations about how many incumbents would be likely to lose their seats next year were valid.

“I don’t think board members are the ones that fairness needs to be talked about,” Lake said. 

The last public comments came from Lacey Tippets, who said she was in favor of the board reduction.

“Represent the people that care,” Tippets said, in reference to those who took the time to take the survey, the majority of which supported the reduction. 

The online survey will continue to be available this week on the district website at uinta1.com. Thomas said district staff will urge parents to fill it out during parent-teacher conferences, too. This issue will again be on the agenda for the next UCSD No. 1 board meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7, when the final survey results will be discussed. Trustees could vote on the resolution at the Tuesday, Nov. 14 meeting.