Every Student, Every School

A Board Member's Guide to Practical Open Enrollment

Join Wyoming school board members for a practical work session on how local boards can create open enrollment policies that are clear, fair, predictable, and workable for the communities they serve. 

Participants will explore how boards can provide families greater enrollment flexibility while maintaining appropriate safeguards around capacity, staffing, transportation, program availability, and other operational realities.

Saturday, October 17, 2026 | 9:00–11:00 a.m.
Ranch Eats Cafe, 1920 Thomes Ave., Cheyenne, WY
(Inside the Western Vista Bank building)

A buffet breakfast will be provided for all registered attendees.

FEATURED SPEAKER

Aaron Salt
Executive Vice President, School Boards for Academic Excellence

Aaron Salt brings experience from nearly every side of public education. His background includes:

• Charter school founder
• Elected school board member and board president
• District COO and Assistant Superintendent
• Interim superintendent
• Author of Govern Differently

Aaron's experience governing from the board dais and leading district operations gives him a practical perspective on how policy decisions affect students, families, administrators, and school systems.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

This practical working session is built around five areas of local enrollment policy:

1. Inter- and Intra-District Open Enrollment
   How boards can establish clear eligibility, application, selection, and continuity rules.
2. School and Program Capacity
   How districts can define objective, understandable capacity limits before applications are considered.
3. Application Process and Transparency
   How to make enrollment information, timelines, criteria, forms, and contacts easy for families to find and understand.
4. Denials and Reconsideration
   How boards can establish specific, consistent denial criteria and a clear process for reconsideration or review.
5. Transportation
   How districts can address Wyoming's geography and transportation realities without creating unlimited obligations.

PRACTICAL TAKEAWAYS

This is not just a policy discussion. By the end of the session, board members will be better prepared to:

• Audit their district's current open enrollment or transfer policy
• Identify gaps or areas of unnecessary friction
• Define clearer capacity and eligibility standards
• Improve transparency for families
• Review how approvals and denials are handled
• Consider practical transportation options
• Identify improvements that could realistically be addressed within the next 90 days

You'll leave with a framework for evaluating your district's current policy and identifying practical next steps your board can begin addressing.

Your District. Your Policy. Your Next Step.

Wyoming communities are different, and local enrollment policies should reflect those differences.

Join Aaron Salt and fellow Wyoming school board members on October 17 in Cheyenne for a practical conversation about how your board can create an enrollment process that works for students, families, and your community.

Buffet breakfast is included.

Questions? Contact David Hilburn at hilburn@sbaenetwork.org.