“…the truth is, we’re shrinking.”

For many of us, when our kids started elementary school here, we remember that first back-to-school-night. The parents walking into the building, the kids rushing out to the playground, laughter and excitement in the air.

For most of the past decade, back-to-school-night at Pinedale Elementary has included about 500 children full of energy and promise. Most of us would see that and think, “How sweet. Look at them all.” But there is also a different kind of pull: “Wow. All of these kids are going to need jobs someday!” That moment sticks, because our children are oblivious to this, but we owe it to them to help shape their future community.

Many of us grew up here. Some of us left and came back. Some never left. Some are new to the area, drawn by the natural beauty and small-town spirit. But we all want the same thing: a thriving community where families can put down roots, where opportunity grows alongside our kids.

Today, if you asked someone on the street how Pinedale is doing, they’d probably say, “It’s growing!” or “There are so many new people here!” But the truth is, we’re shrinking. We’ve gone from 10,247 people in 2010 to 8,728 in 2020. Our schools, which are the heart of any town, show the same trend. Since 2019, SCSD1 has lost about 100 students (around 8%). SCSD9 has lost over 200 students (about 34%) since 2013. This year, the outgoing fifth-grade class at Pinedale Elementary is 81 kids. The incoming kindergarten class? About 60. Each new class is smaller than the last on both ends of the county.

We can’t sit back and hope that it fixes itself. We want a community where our kids can stay if they want to or leave and come back with choices. A place where they can find good jobs, buy homes, and raise families of their own, whether they inherit something or build it from scratch. Every one of those 500 kids on the playground that night represents a future. And those futures depend on the decisions we make today.

That’s why Sublette Citizens for Progress exists. To speak up. To step forward. To build the future we all believe in — together. And it starts now.