Letter: LWV Deceptively Changed Audience Question

When they read my question, which was the only audience question submitted, I was shocked to hear that Michelle Escudero had rewritten it.

LETTER

Editor,

Last night I attended the League of Women Voters forum for HD33 between Justin Morgan and Ivan Posey. The audience was told the LWV is non-partisan, and the questions had been crafted to be non-biased. I submitted an audience member question. My question was this, “Being that education funding is constitutionally mandated in Wyoming, and we are currently spending more per student than most states, how do you feel that more school funding will improve the performance of our children?”

When they read my question, which was the only audience question submitted, I was shocked to hear that Michelle Escudero had rewritten it. It now read – “Being that education funding is constitutionally mandated in Wyoming, and we are currently spending $20,521 per student, which is less than most states, how can more school funding improve the performance of our children?”

This was troubling for multiple reasons. First of all, I don’t believe it is the job of the LWV to edit the questions of the audience members. Secondly, the edit that was performed on my question was quite deceptive. According to USA data, Wyoming spent $23,000 per student in the 2023-2024 school year. In Fremont County specifically the spending is as follows; District 25-$22.7k, D38-$40.8K, D14-$36.4K, D21-$52.7K, D6-$29K, D2-$34.6K, D24-$28.5k. Wyoming consistently ranks in the top 15 of spending for all states; we are currently ranked 12^th. In 2025, Wyoming spent right at $24,000 per student.

Now, compare those numbers to student performance. Among 8^th graders, Wyoming ranks 19^th in math proficiency with 30%. In reading proficiency, we rank 21^st with 29%. This puts us in the middle of the pack among the United States in performance while we are in the top 12 for spending. I don’t know about the rest of Fremont County, but I don’t think that is a great return on my investment. That was the purpose of my question. How is throwing more money into a system that is already spending MORE than most states going to improve our mediocre student proficiency?

Ms. Escudero, if your mission is truly to inform voters in a non-partisan fashion then do so by presenting the facts as they are and giving the people enough respect to allow them to use their own critical thinking skills to decide for themselves. Do your homework, Fremont County, and don’t forget to VOTE.

Sincerely,

Kristen McClelland – Fremont County

Originally published by The Open Range Record, Independent Wyoming News. Cite as: “Letter: LWV Deceptively Changed Audience Question,” The Open Range Record, October 22, 2026.