PINEDALE – Sublette County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees made its selection on a new superintendent official at a special meeting held May 4. The trustees voted unanimously to offer a contract to Shannon Harris who is currently serving as principal of Natrona County High School in Casper.

Harris attended Tuesday’s meeting and stated that she was “honored and excited” to be part of a great school district. Board chairman Jamison Ziegler welcomed Harris and said he was “thrilled” by her decision to lead the district.

The school board’s final selection followed weeks of intensive meetings and interviews between potential candidates and stakeholders in the district and wider community. In February, the board retained McPherson and Jacobson, a professional administrative search firm, to begin the process of finding a new district administrator following long-serving superintendent Jay Harnack’s resignation. McPherson and Jacobson collaborated with trustees to narrow the list of potential candidates down to several finalists based on criteria determined in special meetings in February.

Harris’s contract begins on July 1, 2021 and runs through June 2024.

Harris told the Roundup that she is a Wyoming native, born and raised in Casper. Harris brings a wealth of experience to the table through a career in diverse educational roles working with students from kindergarteners to high school seniors.

During the past six years, Harris held the top administrative post at Natrona County High School.

Before 2015, Harris was principal at Star Valley High School in Afton for eight years, preceded by three years as director of curriculum and instruction at Lincoln County School District No. 2.

Harris stated that while she enjoyed her years spent in Casper. She considers the mountains of Northwestern Wyoming home.

Harris received a Bachelor of Science in special education from Utah State University and a certification in educating the blind and visually impaired from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Harris earned a Master of Education in special education from Utah State University followed by an endorsement in educational administration from New Mexico Highlands University.

Harris spent time teaching severely emotionally disturbed students in Utah and taught blind and visually impaired students in Utah and New Mexico. Harris began her administrative career as assistant principal at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School in Rio Rancho, N.M.

During her interviews in Pinedale, Harris said she was “impressed by the caliber of faculty, students and staff” in the district in what she described as a “close knit, Wyoming community.”

“I look forward to getting to work in a small community where people are unified around their kids,” she said. “I am excited by the opportunity to lead a high-performing district and take my skill set to work with administration and the community to improve quality education for students.”