Although the Wyoming Legislature is on a short break for the President’s Day holiday, Senate leaders are preparing for Education committee hearings tomorrow to consider the Wyoming House omnibus education funding bill.
Wyoming led the nation in K-12 education funding increases over the last ten years. As of the 2015-2016 school year, Wyoming had the highest per student spending in the Rocky Mountain region with $16,127 going toward educating each student, according to National Education Association Research.
Senate President Eli Bebout points out that it costs nearly $6,000 more per student in Wyoming than it does anywhere else in the Rockies, adding that we can no longer afford to continue in this fashion.
Senate Education Committee Chairman Hank Coe of Cody says legislators need to begin to address Wyoming’s structural education funding deficit and make a meaningful course correction. He adds that if they do not make the reductions necessary to push education funding toward a more sustainable level, they are, quote, “shortchanging students, parents and teachers.” Endquote.
Over the last two decades, the Wyoming legislature has invested over $22.3 billion in education, opened more than 24 new schools and renovated hundreds more.
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