Feb. 8—PINE BLUFFS — School board members spent more than an hour Wednesday night debating the best path forward for the five seniors at Burns Junior/Senior High School who were told last week they’ve missing a foreign language credit required for graduation.

Until last Thursday, these seniors were under the impression they were on track to graduate.

Trustee Matt Haas said the whole situation puts a “bad taste in my mouth.”

“I don’t usually like going against what policy we have in place,” Haas said. “But this one is not the kids’ fault. We have to come up with a solution.”

CharleMarie Jackson, a 17-year-old female wrestler, said she and four of her classmates were pulled into the principal’s office one-by-one last Thursday, where they were asked, “Do you want to graduate?”

Jackson said she was panicked over this news, because she had just signed on to play for the Western New England University female wrestling team on scholarship.

An oversight error by school administrators revealed each of these students was missing a one-year foreign language credit, a requirement that has been in Laramie County School District 2 graduation policy since 2015.

LCSD2 Superintendent Justin Pierantoni told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle earlier this week that this oversight was largely due to several revisions of the foreign language requirement. The language of the graduation policy is combined with updated revisions for Wyoming’s Hathaway Scholarship, which is distinctly separate from LCSD2 graduation requirements.

Misty Jackson, CharleMarie’s mother, took matters into her own hands and reached out to the school counselor, principal and superintendent, along with performing her own research on LCSD2 graduation policies.

Unsatisfied with the school’s tentative solution, which is to take a 30-minute Spanish class for the rest of the semester during their flex period, Misty and her daughter approached the LCSD2 Board of Trustees during their Committee of the Whole meeting in Pine Bluffs on Wednesday.

Jackson told board members that, because she is a high school wrestler, she uses her flex period to make up tests and get tutoring on schoolwork when she has to miss class for a game.

“The solution we have causes a huge problem for me,” Jackson told board members. “I’d like to find another solution that doesn’t impede that, so I’m able to still be effective in my other classes.”

Jackson’s mother also spoke during the meeting, saying she was largely disappointed in the lack of communication by school administrators. Misty Jackson told the WTE none of the parents were notified by the school of the missing credit — they all found out through their students.

“What can we do? This was no fault of these kids, and they should not be held accountable for an adult mistake,” Misty Jackson said.

Reactions of board members

Board member Michael Lerwick appeared to be the most empathetic to the situation. Lerwick said the board’s discussion has two different facets — what their interpretation of the policy should be, and how they should address the issue with the five seniors.

“If we require added coursework, all we’re going to do is check a box, and we’re not going to educate kids,” Lerwick said. “We need to take the consequences to the adults that made the mistake.”

Not every board member shared Lerwick’s views, however. Board Treasurer Dave Keiter insisted on following district policy to ensure the seniors receive a full education.

“Education of the kids, that’s number one,” Keiter said. “If we do anything that does not meet our policy, then we’re doing a disservice to these five seniors.”

Board of Trustees Clerk Heidi Romsa brought it to the board’s attention that students were given a handbook, which listed the foreign language requirement for graduation. At the same time, she agreed it was misleading for school officials to make the kids believe they were on track to graduate and then tell them something different more than halfway through the school year.

Misty Jackson asked to interject at that point, and she told board members she took the time to sit with her daughter each year and go over a form of required classes she needed for graduation.

On that form, she pointed out, Spanish is listed as an elective, not a requirement.

Motions on the table

Pierantoni sat at the table with the other board members, and he suggested pardoning the five seniors under a “grandfather clause.” Before the foreign language credit requirement was updated in March 2023, all five seniors would have qualified to graduate with their seventh and eighth grade Spanish classes, which were approved at high school-level.

The policy change made last spring required that only an eighth grade, high school-level Spanish course would be approved for Hathaway Scholarship, but not count toward graduation.

“The seniors we are talking about tonight completed a full year of foreign language,” Pierantoni said. “If they would have graduated last year, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

The other proposed motion was to take a vote on a letter that was submitted by Burns High School Principal Bobby Dishman. Dishman asked the board in his letter to exempt the five seniors from the foreign language requirement needed to graduate.

Should the board deny his exemption request, Dishman said the school “devised an alternative method for the students to fulfill their required Spanish credit,” referring to the 30-minute course during the flex period.

Board Chairman Mike Olson said this seemed like the “cleanest” approach. Olson clarified no action would be taken that night, and any decision would be made at the next meeting.

The LCSD2 Board of Trustees will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at Carpenter Elementary School.

Hannah Shields is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s state government reporter. She can be reached at 307-633-3167 or hshields@wyomingnews.com. You can follow her on X @happyfeet004.