BHCSD1 only allowing high school students to take devices home

The July 15 meeting of the Big Horn County School District No. 1 board of trustees lasted for nearly three hours while a variety of topics were discussed including the 2026-27 budget and the use of electronic devices.

 The district’s strategic framework is being reworked, and the initial proposed concepts were highly favored as Superintendent Matt Davidson asked the board for thoughts on priorities and goals before an August 5 meeting with state legislators.

Technology in the classroom continues to be a topic of concern for the board. The amount of time devices are being used, as well as the content being accessed, were discussed. It was noted that it was difficult, if not impossible, to determine how much time spent on the devices was at home versus at school. Trustee Hiedi Christensen has reviewed the data collected and is concerned about some of the applications being used by students, stating that some of them appeared to be “hacking games and possible gambling.”

The top three applications appeared to be acceptable learning apps, but there were some concerns. Superintendent Matt Davidson stated that there are filters on each of the school-provided devices, also noting that nothing is foolproof.

High school students will be the only population allowed to take devices home in the upcoming school year. The board seemingly recommended that guidelines be developed to assist students, teachers and parents in the appropriate use of school-provided devices inside and outside the classroom. Another aspect of how much time is being spent on devices was noted in that often the amount of time can be curriculum-driven, with AutoCAD given as an example. The board hopes for a balance between learning through device usage and traditional teacher instruction.

The alternative calendar study remains a priority for the school board in making decisions based on public needs. Ideas other than the survey were discussed, with the board settling on having a special meeting one hour before a regular school board meeting for public input on the alternative calendar changes. This was agreed upon by all members; however, determining which meeting to use is a challenge, as one meeting in Burlington and one in Cowley may interfere with State Fair or state championship events held out of town. They will work on determining which meeting to advertise for this upcoming public input session, which all are welcome and encouraged to attend, as public input is still needed.

Budget discussion

The bulk of Wednesday’s meeting was dominated by the district’s budget meeting. Two new buses should arrive in September, with one of them being eligible for partial reimbursement due to its emission-reduction capabilities. That will help ease the burden of the high cost of the buses. It was also noted that the district upgraded the buses with air conditioning, as they will be used for longer trips. The board agreed that the additional expense was worthwhile.

Regarding the budget itself, Superintendent Matt Davidson stated, “Since last fall, when the recalibration discussions began, there has been an incredible amount of information to try to understand related to education funding in Wyoming. The new law, which went into effect July 1, 2026, made many changes to how districts are funded. Business managers have put in lots of extra time trying to understand these changes as they worked to prepare preliminary budgets for this new fiscal year.

“Our business manager, Richard Parker, has been a leader in this process for our district and for his peers across the state. His efforts produced a budget that matched our board of trustees’ priorities. This freshly adopted budget will allow the district to operate efficiently and effectively throughout this fiscal year. Staff will have the resources needed to provide excellent educational opportunities for all of our students.”

The 2027 budget is just over $27 million, with the bulk of that going toward instruction at a cost of more than $18.5 million. Salaries for teachers have increased as retirement funding has been recalculated. The school board echoed Davidson’s praise for Parker for finding creative ways to handle the significant changes made by the state legislature that continue to be fluid with upcoming meetings in August and October.

The recreation district portion of the budget will indeed be impacted by the property tax reduction. However, those funds are distributed to each town based on the number of students. The projected budget is only about $4,000 less than last year’s final budget. There are several items within the budget that still need to be hammered out at the state level; however, the business office has included placeholders within the budget to account for anticipated changes.

The school district has hired a part-time elementary teacher, Kelsie Nelson, for Burlington Elementary and assistant cook Dana Preator for Burlington Schools. 

School board recognitions included Jamie Taylor, Ava Wennberg and Brinley Dewey, who were honored as rodeo royalty. Mason Moss earned all-star honors and was named Defensive Player of the Camp at the BYU basketball camp. Kellen Winters competed in the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Oregon in the freshman 800- and meter events. He ran a 2:00.51 in the 800, placing 22nd out of 94 runners from across the nation. In the mile, he posted a 4:29.23, including a 4:09.62 split at 1,500 meters and a 4:27.45 time at the 1,600-meter mark, placing 12th out of 64 runners nationwide. Dalley Bassett was selected to the North All-Star girls basketball team by a committee of coaches who chose the top 10 to 12 players from the northern half of the state.

The last announcement of the meeting was that school lunch prices will be increasing as a result of “increased food costs.” The 2026-27 food service meal prices were presented to and approved by the board. Breakfast prices will increase by $0.25 for elementary and middle/high school students and by $0.65 for staff and adult meals. Lunch prices will increase by $0.30 for elementary and middle/high school students, $0.65 for staff members and $0.15 for adult meals.” Adult and staff meals will now be the same price.

With just over a month remaining before students return to the classroom, many details are still being finalized as the district continues to adapt to changes in state funding and policy. School officials emphasized that additional guidance and updates are expected in the coming weeks as preparations for the new school year continue.