Krassin off school board, three contenders look to replace
Todd Antepenko, Sophia Gomelsky and Megan Selheim are vying for the seat vacated by Alex Moon Krassin, who was reelected just last year.
The Albany County School Board will replace one of its own Wednesday, choosing from among three candidates seeking to fill the newly vacated seat.
Trustee Alex Moon Krassin stepped down from the board last month; she was unavailable for an interview before this story’s publication.
Krassin was first elected in 2022 to serve a special unexpired two-year term, then reelected in 2024 to serve a full four-year term. Krassin’s departure comes in the first half of her planned four-year term, meaning her replacement will serve only through 2026, when they will have to stand for election to keep their appointed seat.
The vacancy was announced last month and a call for applications netted three responses. Candidates seeking to fill the vacancy include:
Todd Antepenko, a parent of four, according to his letter of interest. A LinkedIn account identifies him as a field consultant for CCC Intelligent Solutions, an insurance software company, and a former disaster recovery plan coordinator. “I would bring that same analytical mindset and collaborative approach to the board, always guided by the question: What is best for our students, our educators, and our community?” Antepenko writes in his letter of interest, “If selected, I would champion the principles of transparency, accountability, financial responsibility, and inclusive collaboration. I believe in policies that are fiscally sound, student focused, and responsive to the diverse needs of our community.” Antepenko ran unsuccessfully to be a precinct committee member for the Albany County Republican Party in 2022.
Sophia Gomelsky, a Laramie High School graduate and current University of Wyoming student. Gomelsky listed several specific policy goals in her letter of interest, including expanding career and technical training, “supporting educator needs through policies like the paid time off and medical leave bank,” and “implementing responsible firearms policies.” Gomelsky has been politically engaged throughout her time at UW as a member of the student government. She might be the youngest UW student senator ever elected, having won her first election in 2023 while still a senior at LHS. She recently spearheaded a successful campaign to pass a limited overdose immunity statute popular with students and other young people. Earlier this year, Gomelsky ran for student government president and lost.
Megan Selheim, a parent of two Spring Creek Elementary students and a youth and young adult specialist for the Wyoming Department of Health. Her career has focused on sexual violence prevention and survivor advocacy, including her eight years with the UW Dean of Students’ STOP Violence program. In her letter of interest, Selheim said she has been regularly involved in parent-teacher organizations and became more interested in school funding during the discussions about the closure of Beitel Elementary, the closure of the UW Lab School, and the various state bills impacting Albany County schools. She writes, “I am a product of public and state schools from kindergarten through graduate school, and believe strongly in the value of public education.”
The school board will publicly interview all three candidates Wednesday during a special meeting that begins at 5:30 p.m.
A regular meeting follows at 7 p.m. Sometime during that second meeting, the board will adjourn into executive session to discuss the candidates behind closed doors. They will reconvene into public session to offer one of those candidates the seat.
The board will have a busy Wednesday. In addition to choosing a new member, the trustees are also scheduled to finalize a budget for the upcoming fiscal year and adopt a new firearms policy. That policy, as written, would require significant levels of training for teachers and volunteers who wish to carry concealed weapons onto school grounds.
Actually it got more than 3 responses I received a rejection letter!!
Antepenko's letter sounds exactly like a Mom's for Liberty platform with an update on inclusiveness to try to trick people.