Wyoming schools, lawmakers address unprecedented funding crisis | Wyomingbusinessreport | wyomingnews.com

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Mainly clear. As low as 25F. Wind the WSW at a speed of 10 to 15 mph.

Brian Farmer, executive director of the Wyoming State School Board Association

Senator R-Sheridan Dave Kinskey, Co-Chair of the Wyoming State University School Financial Restructuring Selection Committee

Rep. Albert Sommers, R-Pinedale, Co-Chair of the Wyoming Legislature School Financial Restructuring Selection Committee

The head of the school council said that large-scale and long-term cuts in education funding are expected to have a catastrophic impact on the future of Wyoming, and many of them are frustrated by the threat of insufficient legislative funding or impending budget cuts.

With the decline in mining income and the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, state income forecasts are weak. Given that these income shortfalls total hundreds of millions of dollars in the next few years, how will the state fund K-12 public education?

Prior to the upcoming regular meeting of the Wyoming State Legislature, Governor Mark Gordon announced that in the second year of the current two-year budget cycle, substantial budget cuts will be made for almost all state institutions and higher education. Although Gordon can cut the state’s general fund budget, changes to K-12 education funds are protected by the Constitution and require legislative action.

influences

More than 92,000 students in 48 school districts in Wyoming received education.

Seeking local feedback, on September 30th, Rep. Albert Sommers and Senator Dave Kinskey, co-chairs of the Select Committee on School Finance Realignment in the United States, sent letters to all 48 school district committee chairs in Wyoming, asking how the projected budget gap would affect schools operating.

The letter said that the Office of Legislative Services expects a budget gap of 16%, which means that the state’s 2021-22 fiscal year’s budget gap for school foundation programs is $515 million. In addition, the trustee was informed that the budget deficit for the 2023-24 fiscal year is expected to grow to approximately US$915 million, accounting for approximately 27% of estimated funds.

Sommers and Kinskey also asked the chairman of the school board to provide possible solutions to address the shortage of funds. Somers said the purpose is to build a "car" to discuss the legislature's funding of schools.

"What we really want to do is ask the local school board to have a dialogue with their community to understand what is important to you in education. What do you want me to do? Reduce or increase income? What do you want?" He said .

Sommers said that in most cases, the regional response did not provide much guidance for reducing locations. Instead, they focused on reducing the impact on the school district. He said that apart from the proposed sales tax for education funding, there are not many solutions.

Considering the history of Wyoming's court cases related to school funding, he said that the school’s reluctance to share information about the best layoffs is understandable, although it is "somewhat unfortunate" as a discussion tool.

In a sample letter provided by the LSO, the public school trustee urged lawmakers to comply with the Wyoming Constitution by providing full funding for education despite having a double-digit deficit, and suggested finding permanent through taxation Sources of public education revenue.

"The legacy of being a leader is that we cut education funding and sacrificed our future, or will we make the difficult decisions necessary to prioritize education and comply with the Wyoming Constitution, which explicitly places education as a top priority?" Asked Betsy Carlin, chair of the Teton County School District Board of Trustees.

The trustee of the Wyoming School District said in the letter that the proposal to cut public education will not only adversely affect student learning. Continued budget deficits will mean layoffs and unemployment, targeting the community economy that is already struggling due to reduced COVID income, and canceling many student and family social welfare programs that society expects schools to implement.

They ultimately believe that the layoffs may cause the loss of talented teachers. In general, the layoffs will have a negative impact on taxes and further aggravate the state’s revenue loss.

Laramie County educates 14,000 students. A 16% loss of resources will result in the slippage of more than 350 full-time employee positions.

Marguerite Herman, chair of the school board, wrote that these job losses could inhibit the ability of Wyoming families to recover from the financial impact of COVID-19, causing a ripple effect across the community and weakening overall economic growth. And slow the recovery.

Such comments are one of many parliamentarians. If parliamentarians choose to put the entire budget deficit burden on schools, then almost every school district will face substantial layoffs.

In Campbell County, a 10% reduction equals $13.6 million, thereby reducing 140 jobs in the area.

Campbell County Chairperson Anne Ochs wrote: "The reduction will have disastrous consequences for our education program. We will not be able to provide students with the basket of goods they need."

She added that the Wyoming Constitution states that it is the responsibility of the legislature to provide funding for a basket of necessary educational programs and services.

Cut it or not?

It is uncertain whether the school will face massive layoffs.

Some board members reminded legislators of their ability to finance education through taxation and urged them to consider cutting expenses and increasing income.

"It doesn't make sense to rely on one or the other disproportionately during a crisis," wrote Mark Walker of the Uinta County School District.

"The Wyoming legislature has the power to replace funds that have been lost in the past few years; the local school board does not."

Legislators from the School Financial Adjustment Committee recently approved a proposed bill that would reduce bills to the legislature by $100 million, accounting for 6.5% of the $1.5 billion education budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year, effective July 1 Take effect.

The committee voted to pass the proposed funding bill and ended a two-day virtual meeting from December 21 to 22. Three Democrats on the committee voted against it.

Based on the average daily membership of K-12 students, an overall reduction of $100 million was used to demarcate the reduction in the school district. Each ADM charges more than $16,000 to a region each year.

Somers said that instead of cutting school funding models and reducing class sizes, it is better to cut tuition for each student as a fair way to distribute the burden.

The proposed school finance recalibration bill 21LSO-0165 v0.5 may die in the legislative process, or other committees may also propose their own education funding bill. The recalibration proposal includes a provision to increase statewide sales and use taxes to provide funding for schools in Wyoming when needed.​​​ It does not specify tax rates, and any tax increase included in the recalibration bill requires legislative approval.

Most school boards in Wyoming refunded a 1% sales and use tax to offset the reduction in education funding.

At the December recalibration meeting, Brian Farmer, executive director of the Wyoming School Board Association, described the approved school financial recalibration bill as a "framework for discussion."

In the past five years, Farmer called it an "imminent problem" in Wyoming due to school funding shortages.

He said: "Our conversations with the public indicate that (sales tax) may be part of the response."

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