Parents in Cheyenne are suing the Wyoming School Facilities Commission over its recent approval of a major overhaul for Laramie County School District No. 1.

The planned overhaul would close eight elementaries and build, replace or alter 12 other schools. It aims to address declining enrollment and to move students out of aging facilities.

The state's School Facilities Commission approved the overhaul last month, paving the way to start construction on two new schools.

Some of the affected parents tried to stop that approval, but to no avail. Now, Katie Dijkstal and Franz Fuchs have filed a lawsuit in the local district court calling for a legal review of the commission’s vote.

The parents argue the commission put too much trust in the study that called for the closures. They also allege the closures will harm their children by taking away their neighborhood schools and forcing them into larger, centralized schools miles from home.

The lawsuit calls for the court to throw out the commission's approval, to declare it unlawful and to provide relief for the affected parents. The state has not yet filed a response.