Jim McBride is a Republican politician who served as the Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2005 to 2011. McBride was appointed by Governor

Dave Freudenthal David Duane Freudenthal (born October 12, 1950) is an American attorney, economist, and politician who served as the 31st Governor of Wyoming from 2003 to 2011. Freudenthal previously was the United States Attorney for the District of Wyoming ...

to the office in 2005 and he was re-elected in

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before losing re-election to Cindy Hill in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Background

McBride was born in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, and graduated from

Shamokin Area High School Shamokin Area High School is a small, rural/suburban, public high school operated by Shamokin Area School District. It is the sole high school operated by the district. The building is labeled Shamokin Area Middle–High School. Facilities The m ...

in 1966. He then attended

Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania (Bloomsburg, BU or Bloom) is a campus of Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania and it is located in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The c ...

, graduating with a bachelor's degree in earth and space science in 1970, and

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

, where he graduated with a master's degree in education in 1971. He then taught junior high school science in

Dover, Delaware Dover () is the capital and second-largest city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County and the principal city of the Dover, DE, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County and is part of ...

, from 1971 to 1975, when he joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. He became the President of the

Community College of the Air Force The Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) is a federal program offered by the United States Air Force and United States Space Force which grants two-year Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees in association with Air University. CCAF se ...

in 1996, and served until 2001. McBride then relocated to Bennett, Colorado, where he became superintendent of the local school district. He moved to Wyoming in 2003, when he accepted a position as a technology administrator for the state department of education.

Superintendent

In 2005, incumbent Superintendent Trent Blankenship resigned as Superintendent, following conflict with Governor Freudenthal, to become superintendent of schools in

Barrow, Alaska Utqiagvik ( ik, Utqiaġvik; , , formerly known as Barrow ()) is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the northernmost cities and towns in the ...

. Under state law, to fill the vacancy, the

Republican Party of Wyoming The Wyoming Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Wyoming. It is currently the dominant party in the state, and is one of the strongest affiliates of the national Republican Party. The party currently controls Wyoming's a ...

would nominate three candidates, one of whom would be selected by the Governor. After a public selection process, the state party nominated McBride; Annette Bohling, an administrator within the state department; and Donald Bryngelson, the director of the state school facilities commission. After interviewing the candidates, Freudenthal appointed McBride as Blankenship's replacement. McBride ran for re-election in

and won the Republican primary unopposed. In the general election, he faced Michelle Hoffman, the Democratic nominee and the Superintendent of Fremont County School District No. 14. Hoffman attacked McBride for cuts that he had allegedly made to special education programs, though McBride's office contested the accuracy of her attacks. The ''Casper Star-Tribune'' endorsed McBride for re-election, arguing that he "deserves to be elected to a full term to continue the work he has begun" and that he "brought stability to the department and put the employees on the same page." Ultimately, McBride defeated Hoffman by a wide margin, winning 59% of the vote to her 41%. In 2010, McBride ran for a second full term, but faced significant opposition in the Republican primary. He was challenged by his predecessor, Trent Blankenship, along with assistant high school principal Cindy Hill and Ted Adams, the

Laramie County Laramie County is a county located at the southeast corner of the state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 100,512 or 17.4% of the state's total 2020 population, making it the most populous county in Wyoming, b ...

School District No. 1 Superintendent. During the campaign, McBride was attacked over the administration of the state's standardized testing system. He lost the Republican primary to Hill by a wide margin, winning just 25% of the vote to her 49%, while Blankenship won 15% and Adams won 11%.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McBride, Jim 1948 births People from Sunbury, Pennsylvania Louisiana Tech University alumni School superintendents in Colorado Living people Wyoming Republicans 21st-century American politicians Superintendents of Public Instruction of Wyoming