The Wyoming Supreme Court has ruled that removing State Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill as the head of the Department of Education is unconstitutional.
The decision means that Hill will return to lead the agency and the future of new Director of Education Rich Crandall remains unclear. A beaming Hill called the law that removed many of her powers as a misguided and unfortunate mistake. Despite some controversy surrounding her management of employees, Hill is excited to return.
“I look forward to working with the staff at the Wyoming Department of Education, and the legislators, and the governor’s office. There will be some challenges, but I am confident that we will be productive and we will move ahead positively.”
Director of Education Rich Crandall says it was a surprising turn of events and many in the department are nervous…
“It’s a very, very tough day for the department just because of the events of the last several months. Several employees testified in the hearings here 3 weeks ago, if they had known that Cindy was going to be their boss, 3 weeks later or that’s a possibility…there’s just a lot of concern.”
But Crandall says many of the reforms that lawmakers have pushed since Hill left the Department will likely move forward. Governor Mead says the attorney general is reviewing the case before they decide on any action surrounding the decision.