Pineview Elementary faces closure vote Nov. 9

CASPER, Wyo. The Natrona County School District 1 Board of Trustees will take up the possible closure of Pineview Elementary School at its Nov. 9 meeting, after the Board Infrastructure Planning Committee voted Oct. 23 to recommend closing the school before the next academic year. Parents, teachers and staff addressed trustees at the Oct. 26 board meeting on the proposal.

District officials say closing Pineview would generate about $1.1 million in ongoing annual operational savings. The school was built in 1955, operates at 54% capacity amid declining enrollment, and needs roughly $5 million in capital repairs over the next five years.

Buddy Johnson, a tutor at Pineview for 17 years, told trustees the school has earned "meeting expectations" and "exceeding expectations" designations under the Wyoming Accountability and Education Act and was named one of two National ESEA Distinguished Schools in Wyoming. He said Pineview fifth-graders posted an 87% proficiency rate in mathematics, the highest in the district and sixth in the state.

Megan Jensen, the school's sole kindergarten teacher, said she understands the financial considerations before the board but urged trustees to look for other options. "If you were to take this as a word problem.. and you put that in front of our students, they would find creative ways to solve this problem," she said. Special education teacher Patrick Weiss defended the school's full-inclusion model, which places students with disabilities in general education classrooms. "Kids with disabilities are not a distraction. It turns out they're an asset," Weiss said. Mother Andrea Majerus said Pineview is the only school in the district where her child feels safe.

School staff member Shannon Hattlestad questioned the district's purchase of the adjacent Wyoming School for the Deaf building for $3.5 million 15 months earlier. Board Chairman Kevin Christopherson said the money was state-earmarked for that purchase and could not be moved to operational expenses. Christopherson said the district faces a $5 million annual deficit in ongoing operational funds. "I know we have been asked to ignore the numbers and just continue on. But the numbers are very, very stark," he said.

Trustee Thea True-Wells noted that staff from schools closed in 2025, Woods Learning Center and Bar Nunn Elementary School, were transferred to other district positions and no layoffs occurred. Trustee Mary Schmidt declined to vote for a $2 million press box contract for Natrona County High School, saying it was in poor taste given the Pineview discussion. The board is scheduled to hear further public comment and take a final vote on Nov. 9.