If Hill takes helm, no place for Crandall, says governor’s office

Posted 2/4/14

“Yes. It would appear the director’s job would no longer exist, as it was created by SF104,” Renny McKay said in an email response to questions from the Powell Tribune. “As you are aware, the attorney general will ask for a rehearing. Until …

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If Hill takes helm, no place for Crandall, says governor’s office

Posted

Richard Crandall would be out of a job if Cindy Hill returns to lead the Wyoming Department of Education, according to Gov. Matt Mead’s spokesman.

“Yes. It would appear the director’s job would no longer exist, as it was created by SF104,” Renny McKay said in an email response to questions from the Powell Tribune. “As you are aware, the attorney general will ask for a rehearing. Until the results of that request are known, we cannot predict a specific result.”

Hill, the superintendent of public instruction, sued the state after a law was passed and signed by Gov. Matt Mead during the 2013 legislative session — SF104 — that stripped her of most of her duties and left her with a largely ceremonial role. On Jan. 27, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled, in a 3-2 decision, that SF104 was unconstitutional.

No changes in the department’s administration have occurred, as the state considers asking for a new hearing before the court. Hill did not return a call seeking comment.

McKay said Crandall, like other cabinet members, does not have a contract with the state. He said there would not be a new position created for him if Hill assumes control of the Department of Education.

“There can only be one director of the Department of Education,” McKay said.

Crandall, who was a businessman, school board president and state senator in Arizona before he took the Wyoming post, told KJAB AM, a Cheyenne radio station, that no one knows what will happen with the department. He said he could “always go back to his companies in Arizona.”

Crandall was hired last summer and started work on Aug. 1. His salary is $205,000 a year, according to McKay. That is nearly double what Mead makes.

Under state law, the governor is paid $105,000. Supreme Court justices are paid $131,500. The secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer and superintendent of public instruction are all paid $92,000.

University of Wyoming President Dick McGinity was given an annual salary of $375,000 when the word “interim,” was removed from his title in January. But the big money is set aside for football coaches, as new University of Wyoming football coach Craig Bohl signed a five-year contract in December that will pay him $750,000 in 2013, with incentives that could bring him $1.2 million in compensation.

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