State Needs to Spend More on Education, Say Consultants

Consultants reviewing Wyoming’s K-12 public education funding say the state needs to spend over $50 million more a year over current levels.
Currently, Wyoming spends over $1 billion a year on its schools. And in the face of declining state revenues, lawmakers last year decided to hire consultants to look at how the state was spending its money on education.
Some lawmakers believe the state is spending too much, and so they feel they can cut education spending. Republican Sen. Hank Coe of Cody is co-chairman of the select committee. He says Wyoming provides significantly higher funding for schools than other states in the region.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jillian Balow, says the state ranks number one in the nation in school finance, due to the equitable nature in which schools are funded. The state was ranked seventh nationally in education quality.
The Legislature convenes its budget session on Feb. 12 in Cheyenne. The interim Select Committee on School Finance Recalibration will meet later this month to consider the consultants’ report.