Travis and Nikki Leck are seeking to defend and protect the Wyoming Steamboat Legacy Scholarship program from a lawsuit filed by the state teachers union. Their sons, Tanner, left, Carter, center, and Mason, right, attend a private classical school. Photo courtesy of the Leck family
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the latest court ruling granting an injunction to block the release of funds to families while the lawsuit is pending.
Travis and Nikki Leck were thrilled to find a private school that challenged their sons academically and were looking forward to using a newly expanded Wyoming education choice scholarship to help pay for it. Now, a judge's ruling has left them and thousands of other families in limbo as the new school year approaches.
 “We would have never considered a private school. It just isn't something most people in this part of the world do,” said Travis, a petroleum engineer who grew up in Montana.
When the time came, the two public school graduates looked for a public school best suited to the needs of their oldest sons, Mason and Tanner. They found a gem: Fort Caspar Academy, a classical public school focused on high academic standards, high time on task, high expectations for behavior, strong parental involvement, logical thinking, and character development.
The school offered evidence-based reading instruction that included phonics, and math instruction grounded in a solid foundation of math facts, everything the Lecks expected.
Then came third grade. The family had the opportunity to move back to Cody, where they had lived off and on over the years. It's the gateway to Yellowstone National Park. Named after its founder, William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, it boasts a population of 10,305. The 2025 graduating class at Cody High School totaled 145.
Cody has one McDonald’s, one grocery store, and a Walmart. Elementary school options were about as limited as the retail offerings. Cody had five public elementary school options, two more than 20 miles out of town, compared with Casper’s 20. The Lecks tried the Cody public school for the twins and their youngest son, Carter, who had started kindergarten.
After a year and 11 days into the next school year, the Lecks realized that they preferred the classical approach to teaching and learning.
“I never thought we would be at a private school, especially in Wyoming. However, being pro-classical education, especially in Cody, definitely makes me pro-school choice. We have exactly one chance to get our kids’ educational foundation right, and it matters.”
The Lecks decided to look elsewhere for the rigor they wanted for their kids, advanced math learners who are now 12 and 9. They found it at Veritas Academy, a private classical school that used the same standards, curricula, and methods as Fort Caspar Academy. Tuition for the upcoming year will be $8,000 per student.
So, they pulled back on discretionary spending to make Veritas Academy possible. Nikki also returned to her job in marketing full time.
In March, the family got hope for financial relief when the Wyoming Legislature passed the Wyoming Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act. The education savings account program offers families $7,000 annually for income-eligible students in pre-kindergarten, with universal eligibility for students in K-12. Parents can direct the funds for tuition, tutoring, and other approved educational expenses.
The Lecks were among more than 4,000 families approved for scholarships.
Two weeks before the state was set to begin distributing funds, the Wyoming Education Association and nine parents sued the state to halt the program, arguing that it is precluded by the state’s constitutional commitment to district schools and that it violates a constitutional ban on appropriations to private entities, even though money is appropriated only to the state Department of Education and administered by the state superintendent of public instruction, according to the legislation. The state’s attorney, Mackenzie Williams of the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office, said during a recent court hearing that school funds are not used to finance the ESA program.
Travis and Nikki, who have advocated for parent-directed education in emails to lawmakers, joined forces with EdChoice Legal Advocates and the Institute for Justice as one of two families intervening to defend and protect the program.
On June 27, a district judge granted what he called a “narrowly tailored” injunction that barred any money from going to families while he decided whether to pause the program until the lawsuit was decided. On Tuesday, he issued a written order granting the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction blocking the release of any funds to families until he rules on the case. However, he allowed other operations to continue until he decides whether to issue a preliminary injunction that would pause the whole program while the lawsuit is resolved. Wyoming State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder said her office is working with the state attorney general to look for options to challenge the injunction. Attorneys for the intervening families said Wednesday they plan to do the same.
"The court's decision to limit educational opportunity for Wyoming families is contrary to the Wyoming Constitution," said Thomas M. Fisher, executive vice president and director of litigation for EdChoice Legal Advocates. "We will seek to stay the injunction and appeal it as soon as possible."
The Lecks say they will find a way despite the latest ruling to keep their kids at Veritas Academy, though it won’t be easy.
However, they worry about those who aren’t as fortunate.
“I know there are a lot of other families that would like to go to Veritas this fall that it will probably hurt if funding is blocked,” Nikki said.
The Lecks said they do not oppose public schools. They graduated from their local public high schools and believe they received a good education. They never gave private school much thought until it became clear their kids needed something different from what that particular public school district offered.
They just think all families should have the right to choose what’s best for their children, whether that looks like a public school, private school, homeschool, or a combination of many options. Larger Wyoming communities like Casper, Cheyenne, and Laramie have publicly funded public and charter school classical school options that aren’t available in smaller communities.
Nikki hopes that the Steamboat Legacy Scholarship program, if it survives the legal challenge, will create an environment for entrepreneurs to provide more types of education. More is particularly important in rural areas like Cody, where choices are scarce and where families have little recourse if existing options are not the best fit.
“Really, a person’s only option if you don’t like what the public school is doing is to take them out and put them somewhere else,” Nikki said. “Wyoming’s scholarship program,” she said, “is one option to make that less financially challenging for anyone, regardless of location or income.”
