A member of the Lander-based public school district’s board says he has to resign because his employer, the federal government, changed its policy on federal police agents holding elected positions.
Fremont County School District No. 1 board member Scott Jensen has spent six years on the board, during which time he’s helped craft a tougher challenge process for sexually graphic books, restrictions on school staffers teaching their own political ideologies, and other actions that he said help to preserve parents’ rights to raise their children.
Because he’s a special agent for a federal police agency, he said he is now subject to a new policy change barring those agents from serving as elected officials.
Jensen declined to identify the agency he works for by name.
Cowboy State Daily has reported prior, however, on his yearslong career as an FBI special agent.
“There’s a lot of personal disappointment for me in this,” said Jensen of his required departure in a Wednesday interview with Cowboy State Daily.
A father to seven children, Jensen was appointed to the board in 2019, elected in 2020 and reelected in 2024.
“It’s a valuable service. And I have valued my time on the board,” he said. “And I’ve felt like I’ve been a benefit to our school district, and it saddens me that I’m not in a position to fill that service anymore.”
Outside employment for agents of his status were already forbidden with some exceptions, such as coaching one’s child’s sports team, or teaching an adjunct college course, he said.
In the past he’s gained permission under the prior policy to serve on the nonpartisan school board.
“The new policy specifically prohibits elected positions” however, he said. “That’s where I get jammed up.”
One of Jensen’s early concerns was with working to keep the schools open during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that “we weren’t being saddled with illegal mandates or overreach from Washington (DC) or Cheyenne.”
He then helped with the language around neutral political expression in teaching, Jensen noted.
The board’s June 2023 meeting erupted with controversy after the public learned that the sexually-graphic book “Let’s Talk About It” sat in the Lander Valley High School library, prompting Jensen’s significant involvement in crafting a tougher book-challenge process.
Citing an “exponential increase” in kids bringing drugs to school around that time, Jensen voted in favor of random drug testing for students in extracurricular activities, in grade six and higher. The board, with Jensen’s aye vote, later narrowed the policy to grade seven and higher.
The Denver-based FBI office declined Wednesday to comment.
Comments And Farewells
Board Chair Taylor Jacobs, who has aligned with Jensen on social issues, told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday that she’s discouraged at his leaving.
“I look forward to seeing the other applicants we have (for that seat), but it’s going to be really tough – big shoes to fill,” said Jacobs. “I have great respect for Scott. It’s an unfortunate situation with his employment, that he has to step down.”
The board has 30 days to fill the vacancy and is accepting applications through Jan. 30, said Jacobs.
Jensen has endorsed Matthew Keller for the position, saying the man is a problem-solver and a dedicated member of the community, as well as a husband and a father.
Keller confirmed Wednesday he approves the endorsement and is applying. He noted he has five children who have been or are still within the public school system, and he wants to be involved with their education and "give back to the community."
Jensen told Cowboy State Daily the decision to keep his job over his board seat is a choice to continue providing for his family.
Board member Jared Kail said he’ll miss Jensen’s leadership on the board.
“He exhibited tremendous support, I think, for the students of our district,” said Kail. “He really stood up for the rights of their parents, for the right to make decisions on behalf of their children.”
Board Members Aileen Brew and Karen Harms did not immediately respond to voicemail requests for comment.
Member Mike McConnell said he was involved in another task and unable to comment.
Member Mara Gans in a Wednesday email extended "a huge thank you" to Jensen for his service.
"His commitment to not just identifying concerns in the district, but also proposing and working towards solutions is inspiring- and I've learned a lot from him in my short time on the board," wrote Gans. "Likewise, I encourage anyone interested in our schools to submit a letter of interest to the school board to so that we have a strong candidate pool to fill Scott's position from."
Not All Rosy
Fiery disputes marked Jensen’s tenure, especially in the months leading up to the 2024 election.
Two groups galvanized around different candidates: the socially conservative group Families for Fremont 1, which backed Jensen, and its opposing group Lander Schools for the Future, which backed Gans, as well as other candidates who ultimately didn’t win seats.
Jensen and others cast Lander Schools for the Future as “liberal,” but it maintained that it backed candidates based on merit.
“Jensen claims that he and Jacobs have done more to reduce division in their terms on the board, but at every turn, there is only more division and hurtful rhetoric,” Lander Schools for the Future said in a statement during that election season.
A major clash between the two factions involved Jensen’s backing of a policy to involve parents in decisions about students’ use of names and pronouns, which implicated transgender students. Jensen said he was searching for the “common good.”
Lander Schools for the Future cast the policy, conversely, as a forcible “outing” of transgender students that could lead to abuse and other harsh outcomes in their homes.
The policy wasn’t spontaneous: it was an attempt to apply a new state law requiring school staffers to report major health changes to parents.
Jensen had argued that the district should specify that tilting toward transgender identification is a major health change. His interpretation did not become part of the ultimate policy.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
