Wyoming Education Association

Spring 2017

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SPRING 2017 | wyoea.org 9 Debbie Bovee 1st Term In House On November 8, 2016, Debbie Bovee's life changed dramatically when she was elected to Wyoming House District 36, which represents a portion of Casper. Debbie decided to run for office because, "I felt like our district needed representation, and I wanted to support issues that constituents care about." Representative Bovee won the election, beating Republican incumbent Gerald Gay. As a freshman legislator, Debbie has seen some long days and nights, and has made some new friends along the way. "Most of the legislators, I believe, really have their constituents' best interests in mind," Debbie said. One of the struggles that Representative Bovee found was that there is some divisiveness when working together on issues. "There seemed to be some nasty undercurrents, and some tension among legislators, which I've heard is unusual, but still a struggle as a new legislator." One of Debbie's proudest moments during her first session was the work that the Education Committee, of which she is a member, did regarding the omnibus education funding bill, HB236. "We took lots of public testimony and considered everything when we drafted that bill. We did the work for our constituents." The hardest issue for her first session has been dealing with the budget. "It's hard! Every time you make a cut, you're looking at a person – that's really hard. I understand the need for cuts, but it's hard," she said. Debbie also said that listening to debate and voting on over 400 bills was tough, because oftentimes, the debate portion on the House floor is where you learn to understand bills and how they may affect your constituents. "You don't understand what it's like until you get here. You have to compromise. I watched some bills that were better than when they started, and also some things that I never thought I'd vote for, I voted for, because I felt it was the right thing to do for representing my constituents," she said. "I think teachers need more understanding or training of how schools are funded," she said. "Education funding is complicated, and I understand that teachers don't want cuts, but a lot of educators don't understand how our state funding works, and how education is paid for in Wyoming." Representative Bovee stressed how important it is for members to be involved in their local district issues, because when the funding is settled and the money is sent to districts as a block grant, districts then decide how to spend the money. "It is so important that teachers work to get input in their district," she said. As a lifelong educator, Debbie taught in Guernsey, Torrington and Casper, and her late husband, also a teacher, subsequently worked for the Wyoming Education Association as a UniServ Director. Debbie has been a member of WEA for over 40 years, is past WEA Vice President, and held many local offices with the Association. Photo courtesy of Wyoming Legislative Service Office Great Things Happen Everyday

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