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Natrona County Schools, Wyoming, elections

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Natrona County Schools
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District details
School board members: 9
Students: 13,193 (2022-2023)
Schools: 27 (2022-2023)
Website: Link

Natrona County Schools is a school district in Wyoming (Natrona County). During the 2023 school year, 13,193 students attended one of the district's 27 schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

Elections

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Natrona County Schools school board At-large

General election

General election for Natrona County Schools school board At-large (5 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Natrona County Schools school board At-large on November 5, 2024.


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Natrona County Schools school board At-large

General election

General election for Natrona County Schools school board At-large

Incumbent Raymond Catellier, incumbent Kevin Christopherson, incumbent Dana Howie, and incumbent Rita Walsh won election in the general election for Natrona County Schools school board At-large on November 8, 2016.

Candidate
Raymond Catellier (Nonpartisan)
Kevin Christopherson (Nonpartisan)
Dana Howie (Nonpartisan)
Rita Walsh (Nonpartisan)

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Natrona County Schools school board At-large

General election

General election for Natrona County Schools school board At-large

Incumbent David H. Applegate, incumbent Toni Billings, incumbent Clark Jensen, and incumbent Debbie McCullar won election in the general election for Natrona County Schools school board At-large on November 4, 2014.

Candidate
Image of David H. Applegate
David H. Applegate (Nonpartisan)
Image of Toni Billings
Toni Billings (Nonpartisan)
Image of Clark Jensen
Clark Jensen (Nonpartisan)
Image of Debbie McCullar
Debbie McCullar (Nonpartisan)

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Election rules

 

Election dates and frequency

See also: Rules governing school board election dates and timing

School board general elections in Wyoming are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in even-numbered years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Wyoming Statute Section 22-22-102

Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts in the state

Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts in the state. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.

  • Filing deadline date: August 25, 2026
  • General election date: November 3, 2026

Election system

School board members in Wyoming are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Wyoming Statute Section 22-22-102

Party labels on the ballot

See also: Rules governing party labels in school board elections

School board elections in Wyoming are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Wyoming Statute states that there must be a nonpartisan ballot containing school board elections as well as judge and magistrate retention elections, municipal office elections, community college trustee elections, special district director elections, county subdivision office elections, and ballot measures.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Wyoming Statute Section 22-6-125

Winning an election

The school board candidates that receive the largest number of votes in the nonpartisan general election are elected to office.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Wyoming Statute Title 22

Term length and staggering

School board members are elected to four-year terms at regular elections.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Wyoming Statute Section 21-6-215

State law requires that not more than a simple majority (50% + 1) of board members can be elected at any regular election. Because school board members have four-year terms, and school board elections are held every two years in each district, this means that as close to half of school board members as possible are elected every two years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Wyoming Statute Section 22-22-102

Representation: at large vs. by sub-district

All school board members are elected at large by voters from the entire district. The school board can pass a resolution to establish residence areas (sub-districts) for some school board seats. If the school board establishes sub-districts, two or more school board seats must remain elected at large without candidate residency requirements. Candidates for the other seats can be required to reside within one of the established sub-districts. School boards must pass resolutions abolishing all residence areas by January 1 of a general election year. School boards can only pass resolutions establishing residence areas for some school board seats as of January 1 of the first general election year following a decennial federal census.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Wyoming Statute Section 21-3-109

Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates

The deadline for school board candidates to file an application for election to be nominated is 70 days before the election. The filing window for school board candidates is 20 days long.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Wyoming Statute Section 22-22-202

School board candidates can file an application for election to be nominated beginning when the filing window opens 90 days before the election.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Wyoming Statute Section 22-22-202

Newly elected school board members must take the oath of office ten days after receiving notification of their election. They officially take office at noon on the first day of December following the election.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Wyoming Statute Section 21-6-215

 


About the district

School board

Natrona County Schools consists of nine members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameYear assumed officeYear term ends
Kyla Alvey2028
John Bolender2028
Dana Howie2028
Alex Petrino2028
Thea True-Wells2028
Kevin Christopherson2026
Jenifer Hopkins2026
Mary Schmidt2026
Michael Stedillie2026

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District map

Overlapping state house districts

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

Revenue, 2020-2021
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $28,078,000 $2,142 12%
Local: $53,330,000 $4,068 22%
State: $159,615,000 $12,175 66%
Total: $241,023,000 $18,385
Expenditures, 2020-2021
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $241,213,000 $18,399
Total Current Expenditures: $220,865,000 $16,847
Instructional Expenditures: $136,326,000 $10,398 57%
Student and Staff Support: $19,821,000 $1,511 8%
Administration: $28,245,000 $2,154 12%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $36,473,000 $2,782 15%
Total Capital Outlay: $19,052,000 $1,453
Construction: $7,000 $0
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $8,000 $0
Interest on Debt: $0 $0

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 44 55-59 35-39 33 25-29 38 47
2018-2019 48 60-64 30-34 35 35-39 40-44 50
2017-2018 46 55-59 30-34 33 20-24 35-39 49
2016-2017 48 55-59 25-29 35 30-39 40-44 51
2015-2016 46 55-59 30-34 33 20-29 40-44 49
2014-2015 44 55-59 30-34 31 20-29 35-39 46
2013-2014 45 50-59 30-34 31 30-39 35-39 47
2012-2013 77 85-89 60-64 65 60-64 70-74 78
2011-2012 74 >=95 55-59 65 60-64 60-64 76
2010-2011 74 80-89 60-64 64 70-79 70-79 75

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 52 60-64 40-44 39 30-34 45 55
2018-2019 54 60-64 35-39 42 30-34 45-49 57
2017-2018 51 50-54 35-39 38 30-34 45-49 54
2016-2017 55 60-64 35-39 40 20-29 45-49 58
2015-2016 55 60-64 40-44 39 30-39 55-59 58
2014-2015 52 50-59 35-39 38 30-39 40-44 55
2013-2014 55 60-69 35-39 41 40-49 45-49 57
2012-2013 73 80-89 55-59 60 55-59 60-64 76
2011-2012 71 90-94 55-59 60 60-64 60-64 73
2010-2011 72 80-89 65-69 62 60-69 70-79 73

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 81 >=50 60-79 70-74 >=50 >=80 82
2018-2019 80 PS 60-79 75-79 60-79 >=50 81
2017-2018 78 >=50 60-79 70-74 >=50 60-79 79
2015-2016 77 >=50 60-79 70-74 >=50 <50 78
2014-2015 77 60-79 40-59 70-74 >=50 40-59 78
2013-2014 75 >=50 60-79 65-69 >=50 >=50 77
2012-2013 74 >=50 >=50 65-69 >=50 PS 75
2011-2012 74 >=50 60-79 55-59 <50 <50 76
2010-2011 71 >=50 >=50 65-69 <50 >=50 73

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2022-2023 13,193 -0.5
2021-2022 13,259 1.1
2020-2021 13,110 -1.7
2019-2020 13,330 -0.4
2018-2019 13,382 0.8
2017-2018 13,277 -0.3
2016-2017 13,318 -0.7
2015-2016 13,417 -0.1
2014-2015 13,433 2.4
2013-2014 13,116 0.3
2012-2013 13,079 4.9
2011-2012 12,438 2.3
2010-2011 12,153 0.3
2009-2010 12,116 1.0
2008-2009 11,989 0.6
2007-2008 11,914 1.5
2006-2007 11,741 -1.3
2005-2006 11,890 0.8
2004-2005 11,791 -2.0
2003-2004 12,028 3.1
2002-2003 11,652 -1.6
2001-2002 11,835 -1.7
2000-2001 12,042 0.0
1999-2000 12,048 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2022-2023
RACE Natrona County Schools (%) Wyoming K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.9 3.1
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 0.7 0.7
Black 1.0 0.8
Hispanic 14.0 14.7
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.2 0.2
Two or More Races 4.5 3.8
White 78.8 76.8

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

As of the 2022-2023 school year, Natrona County Schools had 901.85 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 14.63.

Teachers, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 11.50
Kindergarten: 53.00
Elementary: 399.77
Secondary: 437.58
Total: 901.85

Natrona County Schools employed 19.26 district administrators and 48.15 school administrators as of the 2022-2023 school year.

Administrators, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 19.26
District Administrative Support: 34.91
School Administrators: 48.15
School Administrative Support: 67.79
Other staff, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 218.57
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 27.50
Total Guidance Counselors: 37.60
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 13.60
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 24.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 6.00
Library/Media Support: 49.76
Student Support Services: 211.73
Other Support Services: 477.33

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

Natrona County Schools operates 27 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Bar Nunn Elementary338PK-5
Casper Classical Academy4666-9
Centennial Middle School7966-8
Cottonwood Elementary387PK-5
Crest Hill Elementary287KG-5
C Y Middle School7956-8
Dean Morgan Middle School7116-8
Evansville Elementary323PK-5
Ft. Caspar Academy405KG-5
Journey Elementary396PK-5
Kelly Walsh High School2,0519-12
Lincoln Elementary School459PK-5
Manor Heights Elementary309KG-5
Midwest School149PK-12
Natrona County High School1,7949-12
Oregon Trail Elementary288KG-5
Paradise Valley Elementary391KG-5
Park Elementary355KG-5
Pineview Elementary309PK-5
Poison Spider Elementary189KG-8
Red Creek Elementary8KG-5
Roosevelt High School2439-12
Sagewood Elementary344PK-5
Southridge Elementary330KG-5
Summit Elementary School443KG-5
Verda James Elementary444KG-5
Woods Learning Center183KG-8

About school boards

Education legislation in Wyoming

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

School Boards Education Policy Local Politics Wyoming
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External links

  • Office website
  • Search Google News for this topic
  • Footnotes