WY Superintendent Of Public Instruction Replacement Process Paused By Federal Judge

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon will have to wait on choosing a new Superintendent of Public Instruction For The State.

A federal judge has ordered a brief halt of the selection process, so the judge can hear arguments for a temporary restraining order that would block the Governor from naming a new superintendent.

Judge Scott Skavdahl says a ruling on the temporary restraining order will be issued by midnight Thursday (January 27th), because that is the deadline for Gordon to appoint a new superintendent.

The Wyoming Republican Central Committee met this past Saturday (January 22nd), to select 3 finalists out of those applying to be the new Superintendent, after Jillian Balow resigned to take the same job in Virginia.

Earlier this week a lawsuit was filed by 16 individuals against the Wyoming Republican Party, which alleges the system that the party uses to select the finalists is unconstitutional.

The committee was made up of 3 representatives from each of Wyoming’s 23 counties.

The argument is that the way the committee is made-up, violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. and Wyoming constitutions, because it gives counties with small populations more influence in such decisions than counties with large populations.

Governor Gordon interviewed the finalists this past Tuesday.

They are Brian Schroeder who runs a classical Christian school in Cody, Marti Halverson who served in the Wyoming State House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019, and Cheyenne attorney Thomas Kelly.

Whoever is chosen to be the new Superintendent, will hold the position until January of next year, because the position is up for election this year.