Superintendent of Public Instruction

Ex-Officio Territorial Superintendent of Public Instruction

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction was created by the Legislative Assembly in 1869. ^[1] The Territorial Auditor was appointed ex-officio Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1869 at a salary of five hundred dollars annually.

They had general supervision of all district schools of the Territory; made an equal distribution of the school funds among the several counties; recommended to the district schools a uniform series of textbooks which were used in the schools; recommended the course of studies; made a report as to the condition of district schools to the Governor and the Legislative Assembly. His duties greatly increased with the development of the Territory.

In 1873, the Territorial Librarian was appointed ex-officio Superintendent of Public Instruction at a salary of four dollars a day not to exceed thirty days a year. ^[2]

By a law of 1886, the salary of Territorial Librarian and ex-officio Superintendent of Public Instruction for two years was one thousand six hundred dollars and remained so until statehood. ^[3]

Territorial Superintendent of Public Instruction

Name (Party)	Oath of Office	Term Expired	Birth	Death	Notes
Benjamin Gallagher (D)	December 11, 1869	June 4, 1870	1840	March 1900
James H. Hayford (R)	June 4, 1870	December 12, 1873	1828	July 30, 1902
John Slaughter (R)	December 12, 1873	March 14, 1890	June 28, 1809	December 5, 1903
Minnie Slaughter (R)	March 14, 1890	October 11, 1890	1850	September 11, 1892

State Superintendent of Public Instruction

The Superintendent of Public Instruction is responsible for the general supervision of Wyoming's public schools and the state Department of Education. The superintendent serves as an ex-officio member of the state Board of Education in addition of the other boards and commissions which are made up of the five state elected officials.

History of the Wyoming State Superintendent of Public Instruction's Office

Name (Party)	Service	Hometown	Birth	Death	Notes
Stephen H. Farwell (R)	1890-1895	Buffalo	1836
Estelle Reel (R)	1895-1898	Cheyenne	1862	August 2, 1959	Reel was the first woman elected to statewide office in Wyoming and the 2nd in the nation
C. H. Parmelee (D)	1898-1899	Buffalo	May 15, 1861	October 25, 1919
Thomas T. Tynan (R)	1899-1907	Sheridan	January 6, 1861	May 12, 1925
Archibald D. Cook (R)	1907-1911	Douglas	June 19, 1861	April 23, 1943
Rose A. Bird Maley (D)	1911-1915	Newcastle	1884	November 1975
Edith K. O. Clark (R)	1915-1919	Sheridan	September 7, 1881	June 2, 1936
Katherine A. Morton (R)	1919-1935	Cheyenne	October 4, 1879
Jack R. Gage (D)	1935-1939	Sheridan	January 13, 1899	March 14, 1970
Esther L. Anderson (R)	1939-1947	Casper	November 4, 1893	June 1977
Edna B. Stolt (R)	1947-1955	Sheridan	May 26, 1886	April 1, 1972
Velma Linford (D)	1955-1963	Laramie	March 30, 1907	May 25, 2002
Cecil B. Shaw (R)	1963-1967	Casper	August 31, 1922	January 28, 1994
Harry Roberts (R)	1967-1971	Kaycee	December 10, 1917	January 28, 2009
Robert G. Schrader (R)	1971-1979	Cody	July 1, 1928
Lynn Simons (D)	1979-1991	Casper	June 1, 1934
Diana J. Ohman (R)	1991-1995	Sheridan	Oct. 3, 1950
Judy Catchpole (R)	1995-2003	Casper	March 14, 1944
M. Trent Blankenship (R) [5]	2003-2005	Rawlins	July 18, 1959		Resigned in June 2005 to accept position in Barrow, Alaska
James McBride (R) [6]	2005-2010	Cheyenne	Oct. 14, 1948		Appointed August 2005 to complete term of M. Trent Blankenship; elected to full term in 2006
Cindy Hill (R)	2010-2015	Cheyenne
Jillian Balow (R)	2015-