JACKSON, Wyo. — On Nov. 5, Teton County residents will have the opportunity to elect four candidates to the Teton County School District #1 Trustee Board.
The Board is comprised of seven total members, with four open seats this year. Bill Scarlett, Betsy Carlin and Kate Mead are all running for reelection, and three new candidates, Amy Renova, Bill McPeak and Jerry Bosch, are also running.
Meet the candidates and get insight on the primary issues they’d tackle first below!
Bill Scarlett
Scarlett wants to continue to be one of the seven voices and decision makers on the Board, providing a voice and viewpoint from a finance/business background that he tells Buckrail assists the Board in making the best decisions for Jackson Hole’s public school students.
According to Scarlett, the primary issue he wants to tackle with reelection is the rapid growth of housing in Teton County.
“Teton County continues to add more housing, which leads to more children in our schools,” Scarlett says.
According to Scarlett, with bigger classes comes a need to have more educational professionals to teach the children. Scarlett stresses that these professionals must be paid so they can afford to work here.
“The model and regional cost adjustment is scheduled for recalibration in 2025,” Scarlett says. “The legislators will be working on the regional cost adjustment (RCA) that attempts to equalize education salaries across the state. Serving as the legislative liaison, I will defend the importance of the RCA and attempt to make enhancements that better recognize the housing expense in Teton County.”
Betsy Carlin
Carlin has served on the Board for the last eight years, and tells Buckrail her entire adult life has been dedicated to advocating for children, families and educators. According to Carlin, continuing to be on the Board is one way she can contribute to a personal vision statement she wrote in 2012 centered around all children and families having access to programs that support them and allow them to thrive.
Carlin emphasizes that her first piece of business will be orienting the new Board to understand strengths and ways of working to become a cohesive team.
“It is those varying experiences and perspectives coupled with trust and respect that have allowed us to make strong decisions that best serve the students, teachers and families,” Carlin says.
With decisions about budgets, school capacity, staff retention, assessment scores and more, Carlin says she will prioritize the new Board team becoming a functioning team to make the strongest decisions that benefit the district.
Kate Mead
Mead did not reply to our requests for comment. She has been on the Board for 16 years.
Jerry Bosch
Bosch tells Buckrail he is running to give teachers a voice on the Board, and to provide a style of leadership that focuses on taking responsibility and giving credit.
Bosch says an issue of utmost importance that he sees needing to be addressed is student preparation for the next part of life.
“This might be trade school, work or college,” Bosch says. “Whatever a young person’s dreams are, I want to make sure they are prepared for that next step.”
Bosch sees that, over the past several years, there have been troubling numbers about how kids are doing. He emphasizes the need for solutions that are driven by data and facts. As a coach in this valley for a long time, Bosch recognizes the grit of local kids and believes they can do what they’re challenged to do with parents that are ready to help – if they’re included and asked.
“And, we MUST involve our teachers!” Bosch tells Buckrail. “We need to make sure they have the resources and support they need.”
Amy Renova
Renova tells Buckrail she wants a seat at the table where decisions about children’s education are being made, to give kids the best opportunities to succeed in Jackson’s public schools.
Renova says that, if elected, she plans to observe, learn and give her honest opinions. She emphasizes transparency with parents and guardians, and bridging the communication gap amongst Jackson’s diverse community.
According to Renova, some of the main issues she sees are overcrowding, security of all buildings and proper teacher/student ratios. To address this, Renova will review existing policy that addresses how enrollments are monitored and enforced, discuss safety protocols and identify improvements, in addition to reviewing and discussing the possibility of school schedules with staff input.
Bill McPeak
McPeak tells Buckrail his purpose for running for the school board can be summed up by the slogan that appears on his campaign cards, “Education First,” which includes fiscal responsibility, instructional equality, retention of staff, safety and transparency in decision making as key items on his agenda.
McPeak says the primary issue that concerns him is the overall welfare of students and staff. He cites as information provided by the administration as the result of their survey that says the cost of living is the fourth highest reason for leaving, and asks “what are the top three and what can we do about them?”
McPeak wants to keep the channels of communication open with all staff, especially if there is an issue that they are reluctant to address directly with the administration for fear of retribution.
“I’ll communicate with the student body and staff to insure that they are receiving the protection under Title IV of the civil rights act and Title II of the ADA following the district’s resolution agreement in July of 2023 with the federal government,” McPeak says.
Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Early voting is now open.
