Cows on Campus!

Sharing a funny experience from an onsite coaching visit I had in rural New Mexico this week.

For those of us who live in the Mountain West, open range territory is a common thing. Open range means that ranchers let their cows and other livestock roam free with few fences. The fences that do exist are barbed wire fences that can run hundreds of miles to encompass large territories.

A cow on a school campus eating the trees and bushes.

Open range cows near a school campus.

A typical cattle guard crossing.

If you are driving on a country road or state highway in open range, you as a driver must yield to animals, and you can be held financially liable if you hit a livestock.

You can know if you've entered open range country in two ways. Usually there's a sign. But, if there's no sign, you can tell for sure when you cross a cattle guard (see picture). If you've driven across one, it makes the unmistakable sound of a buzzing on your tires!

Anyhow, cattle guards are supposed to keep cows in a certain range because the miles of barbed wire connect to the edges on both sides of the road. Cows can cross the road, but they are scared to cross the cattle guards, which should keep them out of the next open range territory, township, neighborhood, etc.

Enter the school I was coaching at. It was in open range country in NM. It has fencing around the school -- not to keep kids in...but to keep cows out! And, you have to enter through a cattle guard to get into the school.

Only trouble is there's a very small defect in the cattle guard at this school entrance, so persistent cows can enter if they are determined.

That happened while I was there this week. A couple big cows decided to come munch on the school trees and bushes outside the school conference room.

The principal had to go outside and scare the cows back out of the property for the kids' safety!

Can you imagine that in your principal job interview?

Interviewer: "Ok, we've heard that you are amazing as an instructional leader...but how are you with cows?" 🤣

The next time you interact with an administrator in a rural community, consider what hats they may be wearing besides "instructional leader".