Wyoming recommends school closures, but leaves decisions open

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (KIFI/KIDK)-Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and State School Superintendent Jillian Balow are recommending all Wyoming schools remain closed through at least April 3.

Final decisions will be left to superintendents and local school boards. Requirements for district staff to report to work will also be left to the discretion of local administrators.

Gordon said the action was not necessarily based on epidemiological practices, but rather was an attempt to allow local schools to prepare to operate in the best way that mitigates spread of COVID-19.

“This is Wyoming, where we are all neighbors,” Governor Gordon said. “While social distancing should be a priority for all of us, it should not keep us from helping out our neighbors. I am thinking of our first responders and healthcare workers on the frontlines who may be without child care. This is a time, if the risk is low, to help one another out.”

Gordon said the state should safeguard the health of everyone, but also continue daily work for the economic security of the state and nation.