CHEYENNE, Wyo - The Wyoming Business Alliance today expressed its support for the Smart Start Guidance for fall school reopenings.

Cindy DeLancey, President of the Wyoming Business Alliance/Wyoming Heritage Foundation, issued the following statement:

"Opening schools in a safe, sensible manner will allow Wyoming students to learn and grow. We support State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow's thoughtful guidance for our communities to decide how to reopen schools safely. Prolonged school closures are harmful to our children, especially younger and lower-income students, and our state's economy. Above all else, we want our kids, teachers and school staff to be safe, but a second priority must be that our kids don't fall too far behind. This blueprint for reopening our schools strikes the right balance between safety and ensuring that our children will have access to quality education this fall."

The Smart Start Guidance document, released on July 1, provides school districts with a blueprint to prepare for three tiers of operation: fully open facilities, fully closed facilities and a hybrid model somewhere in between. Each school district will be required to submit their Smart Start plan to the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) by August 3, 2020. The document is available at https://edu.wyoming.gov/educators/covid-19-resources/.

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Wyoming Business Alliance

The Wyoming Business Alliance serves as the state's premier business advocate and proponent with the mission of promoting and advocating a growing economy by connecting business leaders from across Wyoming, representing business interests and issues, and partnering with key business organizations and trade associations. For more information, visit www.wyomingbusinessalliance.com.