After A Sheridan County Schools Chief Fired, Two Board Members Quit On The Spot

After a Sheridan County school board voted 3-2 Wednesday to terminate its superintendent’s remaining employment contracts, the two members who voted nay resigned on the spot. Two weeks before the board majority terminated his contracts for this school year and an upcoming three-year span, Chase Christensen was named the 2026 Advocacy Champion of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. He also was Wyoming’s Secondary Principal of the Year for 2025.

School board members are tight-lipped about what sparked the move. Board Clerk Gina Hackett said she cannot talk about personnel. Treasurer Deborah Guyer declined to comment but told Cowboy State Daily to request her resignation letter. Board Chair Kelly Little and Guyer voted nay, then announced they would leave the board. According to the Sheridan Press, Guyer said: “I cannot in good conscience continue to serve on a board that does not consider the successes and growth of our students. Instead, personal views change the ability to consider the whole picture.”

Christensen confirmed that the resignations were at least in part because of the termination. He told Cowboy State Daily that he is not at liberty to discuss the reasons behind the move and that it was a “without cause” termination. While the board terminated his contract, the terms say the district will pay part of his salary and benefits for the next two years.

Another staffer, school chef Aubrey Holland, told the board she would resign over the move as well, the Sheridan Press reported. Former school board members Karis Prusak and Dusty Hackett left the board earlier this year. In March, trustees Ernie Miller and Sam Olsen were appointed in their place. Christensen said the writing started to reach the wall then. “The decisions made by my board, and perhaps the lack of decision-making that’s taken place, has indicated this was probably the direction things were going,” he said. At past few board meetings, the board has been voting against committee recommendations and tabling “lots of items and pushing action down the road.”

In a phone interview, former board member Dusty Hackett declined to say why he left the board but voiced satisfaction with Christensen’s termination. “He just wasn’t a fit for our school anymore,” Hackett said. As for giving more insight and context, he said, “Let everything settle down. Get everything nailed down the way it’s supposed to be.”

Christensen sounded undeterred, saying he is excited to continue supporting public education in Wyoming via one of many paths that may come. He attended parts of this year’s legislative session and participated in education talks with lawmakers. He said he hopes to keep pushing work-based learning in Wyoming, possibly in the private school sector or in partnership with colleges. He is also “kicking around” the idea of running for state legislature or another public office, championing school funding measures. “I think I’ve got a lot to offer both on the education front but also knowledge of the state of Wyoming,” he said, “and representing the true values of the people of Wyoming that have been missing for at least the last two years in terms of many of the actions that come out of the Legislature.” Alternatively, he said he might consider running for the board of Sheridan College.