• 12 comments made in support of AD Erickson

Members of the Lincoln County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees met on April 9. Here are items that took place as part of that meeting. Video of the full meeting can be found at lcsd2.org.

Superintendent Matt Erickson detailed a proposal to reinstate frozen External Cost Adjustment (ECA) school years which would result in additional monies being distributed to district employees. This ECA was estimated at $2.1 million which translated to $2,690 added to each teacher base. Erickson also noted that all staff would receive a $1-per hour increase.

He explained that staff wages were frozen for the 2013-14, 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years and noted that the ability to add to the teacher salaries was important for the district, emphasizing that this is an “innovative and forward-thinking concept for retention.”

The proposal was approved unanimously by the board later in the meeting.

Mr. Scott Milne addressed the board pertaining to a Wyoming

Teachers Association proposal to establish a paid parental leave policy. “We think we should be celebrating and honoring young families and feel this provides them to spend some time at home.”

The policy would allow for up to 12 weeks after the birth of a child.

In the facilities update, the bids for the additional wrestling room were reported to be at $1.7 million for the lowest bid and over $1.9 million for the highest bid. This is significantly higher than the original estimates of $1 million. The price increase is believed to be somewhat related to unstable markets with steel and recent tariffs enacted which has caused a great deal of uncertainty.

The meeting was filled to near capacity as the vast majority in attendance were there for the public comments portion of the meeting, of which there were 12 total comments made. All of which were addressing the decision in the March 2025 meeting to not renew SVHS Activities Director, Rob Erickson, in that same position. Loud applause followed nearly all of the made comments.

The comments were as follows:

McKay Young: He expressed concern that the board would vote to not renew Mr. Erickson against the recommendation of the in-building administration and believed board members overstepped their bounds. A printed letter of his concerns were distributed to the board

Ty Draney: Mr. Draney expressed his support of the previous comment made by Mr. Young and backed the recommendation of the building administrator.

Eddie Clark: Mr. Clark noted that Mr. Erickson had displayed support for the programs in the school and felt the actions of the board did not reflect the community values. He concluded by stating he was there to support a person who has supported us.

Ben Hale: Mr. Hale noted disappointment for the decision of the board and felt that the actions at the March meeting had adversely affected trust within the building.

Jase Burton: Mr. Burton’s comments represented the SVHS Student Council and noted that 398 students had signed a letter of support for Mr. Erickson. This letter was distributed to the board members.

Blake Peterson: Mr. Peterson addressed the board noting Mr. Erickson’s support for him as an educator, a coach and as a friend.

Kurt Sand: Mr. Sand noted that he was in his 31st year of teaching and that “trust is earned in drops and lost in buckets, and we lost a bucket of trust this past month.”

Kelly Fullmer: Mr. Fullmer noted his disapproval to make the decision to vote against the recommendations of the administrators.

Aaron Lancaster: Mr. Lancaster noted he knew he wanted to come back to the valley during the March 2000 state basketball tournament and emphasized his love for the district and the school and the valley. He cited the book “The Culture Code”.

Tami Nielsen: Mrs. Nielsen read a letter shared with her peers regarding nominating Mr. Erickson for the Wyoming Theater Administrator of the Year, an award which he was given earlier this year.

Shane Williams: Mr. Williams noted Mr. Erickson’s work ethic and his personal experience of having worked with him for 30 years. He asked the board why Mr. Erickson was not renewed.

Denise Frazier: Mrs. Frazier challenged the board to view this opportunity to build bridges and approach moments like this with reflection.

The LCSD No. 2 Board of Trustees was offered an opportunity to respond via e-mail.  SVI did not receive a response by print deadline.