TORRINGTON – Bowing to public pressure, the Eastern Wyoming College Board of Trustees on Tuesday pulled from consideration and effectively killed two policy proposals that would have addressed equality issues for transgender students, faculty and staff.
By unanimous vote, acting on the recommendation of EWC President Dr. Lesley Travers, the board declined to consider a third reading of the proposed policies and removed them from the set agenda for the meeting. The recommendation and vote came following public hearings on the proposals, Board Policy 3.27 Transgender Employee Policy and Board Policy 5.14 Transgender Student-Athlete Participation.
The board room on campus was standing-room only with residents, religious leaders and politicians flocking to the meeting from around the EWC service area. One count, provided by the group, indicated as many as 120 individuals made the pilgrimage to EWC on Tuesday to express their opposition to the proposed policies.
Originally introduced in March, the policies would have ensured equality in employment practices for faculty and staff, regardless of gender identity, as well as protecting the privacy of individuals who identify as transgender. For students, they would have established a gender-neutral housing option as well as setting guidelines for transgender student’s participation in athletic teams in “intercollegiate, club and intramural sports.” Those guidelines would have also been extended to individuals attending and participating in activities at EWC.
Steve Davis, who said he lives between Lingle and Fort Laramie, told trustees he’d “experienced a lot of homosexual activity” when he was in the Army and stationed in West Virginia in the late 1960s.
“It was a very evil, wicked environment,” Davis said. After serving a year in Vietnam, he was reassigned to the West Virginia area and “spent some time there experiencing difficulties,” he said.
Davis was not alone in his comments. About 20 individuals from the group spoke to the trustees, addressing concerns ranging from what some called the “politicization” of the issue to potential legal ramifications to objections based on religious grounds.
“We are all gathered here today because we care about the same things – families, neighbors, students, the community and Eastern Wyoming College,” said Wyoming Rep. Cheri Steinmetz (R-Lingle). The policies are “inconsistent with community values, which makes them at odds with EWC board policy. They needlessly increase the potential for litigation.”
Steinmetz noted that neither the Wyoming Legislature or the U.S. Congress have adopted laws including transgender people as a group protected under anti-discrimination laws. Asserting that’s what the policy proposals would have done upon their adoption, she said she believes the trustees would be overstepping their authority should they proceed with approval.
“The authority to designate uniform laws, including protected classifications, clearly lies with the legislature,” Steinmetz said. “It is outside the scope of the jurisdiction (of the board of trustees) to designate new, protected classes, especially because they’re not recognized at the state level. The proposed transgender policies are inconsistent with old-fashioned community values.”
Some who spoke in opposition to the policies claimed they would open the door to nefarious actions by men who would take advantage of the policies to lay in wait in bathrooms or locker rooms to assault women and girls.
“My granddaughter had barely turned 14 before she started taking college courses” through EWC, said Kathy Russell of Douglas. “If she had walked into a bathroom and saw a male there, it would not be a good thing. It’s her privacy rights that are at issue.”
And some objected purely on religious grounds, including Kelly Sitner, who said that, “from a Christian perspective, all blessings extend from God and You’re poking him in the eye.
“If you pass this policy, you will lose those blessings going forward,” Sitner said, citing the state’s affirmation of gay marriage in 2014.
“When the state of Wyoming accepted gay marriage, within 90 days, we saw the lowest coal prices we’ve ever seen,” Sitner said.
In other business, the trustees:
n Voted down two proposed policies which would have granted decision-making power over appointments of faculty and staff and Reduction in Force procedures with the college president. Some on the board indicated they wanted to be involved in the decisions, particularly in terms of removing faculty or staff from their positions with the college.
“I absolutely agree we need to clean up our Reduction in Force policies,” Trustee Marilyn Fisher said. “But this added a few things. Once the board of trustees says, ‘Yes, we need reduction in force, we’re out of the loop.”
The proposed policy puts the decisions “totally in the hands of the president,” she said. “It’s a question of having one person making decisions that could open us up to lawsuits.”
Faced with massive revenue and budget cuts from the Wyoming Legislature in 2016, EWC went through a reduction in force. At that time, several individuals were called to testify, which had the potential to confuse the issue based on points of view.
“My recollection is one of the problems we experienced in some of the terminations were college people testifying at the Office of Administrative Hearings who weren’t the president and maybe didn’t do the best job testifying,” Board Chair John Patrick said. “I think one of the motives (of the policy proposal) was, in the future, if anybody gets called to an administrative hearing, it should only be the president.”
But Fisher, agreeing the final responsibility rests with the college president, asked: “At what point does asking the board’s final approval mess up the system?
“Eight heads are better than one,” she said. “I understand (the board) has to stay out of it because we might have to hear grievances.”
Powers of boards of trustees in the community college system in Wyoming are set by state statute, board attorney David Evans said. But neither the statutes or existing case law give boards the power to approve hires or intervene in other employment issues beyond the hiring and firing of the college president.
“I could argue the board has a lot of broad powers,” Evans said. “Wyoming case law says a board such as your board has to have a specific authority in the statute to take a specific action.”
Board Secretary Holly Branham said there had been a few times when trustees were called upon to intervene in personnel issues beyond the office of the president. But Patrick said, because the final determination of the president’s employment does rest with the board, they should put their trust in the office – in this case, in President Travers – to act in the best interests of the college overall.
“Another issue never discussed here will surprise you – there are members of the faculty and staff at this college who worry about the safety of their jobs because we have the power to oversee terminations,” he said. “They’re worried their jobs are in jeopardy.
“I’d like to trust (Travers) to do the right thing, with the clear understanding that, when she doesn’t, she’ll get fired,” Patrick said. “I don’t think we need this authority now. If a time comes when we do need this authority, we can take it back.”
In separate votes, the board split 4-3 against both policies, with trustees Fisher, George Nash, Angie Chavez and Mike Varney voting against.
n Approved creation of the new Gunsmithing Program within the college and the appointment of Glen Morovits, currently gunsmithing instructor at Trinidad State Junior College in Trinidad, Colo. Due to budget issues, Morovits will not start his new position until January 2019.
n Approved appointment of Dr. Donald Appiarius as new Vice President for Students for the college, effective July 1.
n Approved appointment of Heidi Edmunds as Dean of Instruction.
n Ratified the appointment of Tim Moser as head men’s basketball coach and fitness center director.
