The Wyoming House Education Committee has voted down a proposed Constitutional Amendment that could have led to an appointed State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The 7-2 vote to kill the bill likely ends a two year effort to remove the Superintendent as an elected state official.
Noting heavy public opposition to the bill, Encampment Republican Jerry Paxton said it’s time to stop the discussion.
"I really think that moving this thing forward would be an exercise in futility because I think the end result would still be the same. I think that the people of Wyoming have spoken and I think this is an opportunity for us to stop the process and save ourselves a lot of time and effort."
State Superintendent Jillian Balow says an elected Superintendent is more accountable to the public.
"This feels a little bit like a silver bullet to me and I can tell you after years in education there is no such thing as a silver bullet in education."
Balow did say that she plans to address governance concerns of the legislature.