School board votes to establish Antelope Creek Elementary in Garrett
The tiny school would serve the extremely rural Anderson children. Members of the ranching community turned out to the school board meeting Wednesday to voice their support for rural education.
The Albany County School Board voted unanimously to establish a rural schoolhouse in Garrett during the trustees’ meeting Wednesday.
The proposal still needs to secure state approval, but the vote this week was a major win for Anna and Carson Anderson, ranchers who have been fighting for years to secure that schoolhouse for their two children.
“It’s everything,” Anna told the Laramie Reporter following the board’s vote. “It’s so validating … We took something that could have been really ugly and turned it around.”
It’s been a long road to get to this point — a road that’s involved school board meetings, site visits, direct campaigning, a state supreme court case and even legislative meetings in Cheyenne.
Garrett — where Anna and Carson run the Slow and Easy Ranch — is an hour from Rock River in good weather. But Albany County doesn’t always have good weather and the Andersons are frequently snowed in, sometimes cut off from the wider world for weeks at a time.
So the Andersons have been advocating for a rural schoolhouse for their children, Emmitt and Waverly — of the sort that has a long history in Albany County, especially among its ranching communities far north of Laramie.
Several ranchers turned out Wednesday to advocate on behalf of the Andersons’ bid for a school in Garrett — and on behalf of rural education more generally.
“Rural schools have long played an integral part in the strength of our community,” said Celia Corson, who hails from the Bell-Otte ranch near Garrett. “I plead with you to make right the wrong that was inflicted upon this family and our community … By doing so, your legacy will be one of safeguarding all the students in this district and upholding the principles of community, foresight and progress.”
Corson described the agreements her family and others made with the school district half a century ago when their own rural school district was being subsumed into the countywide District No. 1.
“There was a stress and worry in our community so palpable and strong it made an indelible impression upon me, young as I was,” she said. “The stress stemmed from the looming consolidation and the fear my parents, grandparents and neighbors had that at some point down the road, our area could be denied a rural school, which would cripple our long-standing community. It was the topic at every dinner table and every community get-together.”
Corson urged the district to uphold the promises made between their respective predecessors.
Roy Martin, who said he was a rural teacher in northern Albany County for more than three decades, also lent his voice to the cause. Martin said in ranching families, both parents are ranchers, and it’s simply not feasible for one parent to homeschool.
“It is not practical for them to stay at home and teach their kids,” he said. “It just doesn't work. If you neglect to fund the school, you’re asking these people to split up families.”
Anna has been clear that those are indeed the stakes for her family. She knows her children won’t do well with homeschooling or virtual learning. Without the rural school, the Andersons might have to split up, one parent living in town for the school year to ensure their children have access to quality education, the other back at the ranch, alone.
But with the school board’s approval Wednesday, avoiding that outcome looks a little more likely. There are still, however, a few hurdles to clear.
First vote, lawsuit, budget amendment
The vote Wednesday was actually the second time the school board has voted unanimously to support the Andersons’ bid for a one-room schoolhouse. The trustees first approved the Buckle School — now renamed the Antelope Creek School — in early 2022.
But the school board trustees don’t have the final say. The proposal, once approved at the local level, heads to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. And in 2022, that’s where the proposal died.
Then-Superintendent Brian Schroeder argued the school would be too expensive and suggested the Andersons make use of virtual learning instead. The Andersons sued, aiming to force the state’s hand, but Albany County District Court ruled that such a decision was within the superintendent’s discretion to make. The Wyoming Supreme Court upheld that ruling.
But the Andersons weren’t done. Undeterred by their loss in the courts, the ranchers headed to Cheyenne, imploring lawmakers to include funding for the schoolhouse in the state’s biennium budget.
The Andersons’ fiercest advocate, Rep. Trey Sherwood (HD-14) — whose district encompasses Garrett and who serves on the Joint Appropriations Committee — lobbied her fellow legislators to include that funding.
They listened. An amendment setting aside up to $300,000 for a rural school in Albany County was added to the budget bill. Despite the fierce battles over the state budget that colored this year’s session, the $300,000 went untouched, surviving the budget bill’s journey through the legislature.
But having the funding in place does not automatically trigger the construction needed to establish Antelope Creek. It simply let the Andersons, and the school district, begin again.
The board voices its support
On Wednesday, the school board reiterated the decision it made in 2022, at the recommendation of Albany County Schools Superintendent John Goldhardt.
“The Andersons have shown a need for an isolated school as outlined in state statute,” he said. “And I recommend to the trustees that they approve their request so it can be forwarded to [State] Superintendent Megan Degenfelder for final approval.”
The trustees were vocal about their support for the Antelope Creek School.
“As a board, it’s our responsibility, I believe, to remove any barriers that come in front of us and to provide the best offerings of education that we can,” Trustee Kim Sorenson said. “We should offer the best program that we can possibly offer.”
Trustee Nate Martin praised Sherwood’s involvement as a “tireless champion” for ranching communities, which in this case involved advocating to both her fellow lawmakers and the school board members themselves.
“It was Rep. Trey Sherwood who secured the funding for this school, to allow this question to come back before this board in the first place,” Martin said. “It’s not like you can snap your fingers and the legislature appropriates $300,000. Rep. Sherwood has been working on this project for years without cease.”
Trustee Emily Siegel-Stanton thanked the ranchers and other commenters who shared their experiences learning or teaching in rural Albany County schools.
“It's one thing to look at data and facts and try to make a pragmatic decision for what’s best for the district,” she said. “But it's another to really hear from you all and hear about your stories and histories.”
What’s next?
The Antelope Creek School proposal will now head up to State Superintendent Degenfelder, who will have the final say.
A spokesperson for Degenfelder would not comment on the specific Antelope Creek proposal when reached for comment after the passage of the state budget bill.
“Superintendent Degenfelder will evaluate any request that comes to her from Albany 1 on this issue,” spokesperson Linda Finnerty writes in an email.
Anna Anderson is hopeful about their chances with the new superintendent.
“The ball’s in Megan’s court and I have every confidence she’s going to get it done,” Anna said. “She’s a sixth generation rancher. She knows how important this is to our state.”
Additionally, the district will have to hire contractors to actually set up the school, which will take the form of a small modular building and a separate “teacherage” trailer. It will also have to hire a teacher — one comfortable with living on an extremely rural ranch where they’re liable to be snowed in for weeks at a time.