House committee advances bill to cut K-12 education

Kathryn Palmer, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne
·2 min read

Mar. 6—CHEYENNE — The House Education Committee voted 5-4 Friday afternoon to pass a bill that would cut $30 million worth of K-12 funding over the next three years.

When it's heard on the House floor later on during the lawmaking session, House Bill 173 proposes a mix of cost-saving and revenue-raising measures to balance a $300 million shortfall in the state's K-12 education budget.

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If passed in its current form, the bill would earmark a 1% sales tax hike for education, redirect funds from the state's savings accounts to the state's school foundation program account, and make some adjustments to the education model. Those include: increasing class sizes by two students; increasing teacher salaries by 10% and reducing administrative salaries by the same amount, and increasing school districts' allowable cash reserves from 15% to 25%.

That would equate to about a $10 million cut each year for the next three years.

"If you add all of those things up — when the 1% sales tax kicks in — it would equal over $300 million" in savings, Rep. Albert Sommers, R-Pinedale, said. House Bill 173 is a substitute for a bill drafted by the Select Committee on School Finance Recalibration, which originally proposed a $100 million cut to the school foundation program account.

The House Education Committee debated amendments all week. Some lawmakers, including Rep. Cathy Connolly, D-Laramie, raised questions about altering the Legislature's education model, which prescribes things like pay and classroom size.

In the end, Reps. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne; Steve Harshman, R-Casper; Sandy Newsome, R-Cody; Sommers and Committee Chair Jerry Paxton, R-Encampment, voted to advance the bill as amended, which will now await a hearing on the House floor.

Kathryn Palmer is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's education reporter. She can be reached at kpalmer@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3167. Follow her on Twitter at @kathrynbpalmer.