Wyoming needs real leadership to address school funding issue

When the final bell rang on this year’s legislative session, state leaders failed to turn in their assignment. Instead, they asked for yet another extension on work that was due a long time ago: addressing Wyoming’s school funding shortfall.

The issue, at its essence, is this: Wyoming’s fossil fuel industry can no longer provide the revenue to sustain the state’s existing K-12 education system. State leaders know this, but have failed to devise a viable solution, whether that’s new revenue, sizable cuts or some combination of the two. Nor have they even identified exactly what they want out of our school system. And that doesn’t seem like it will change soon.

This legislative session was supposed to be different. Heading into it, Gov. Mark Gordon had made two rounds of cuts to the state budget in response to the energy slowdown and COVID-19 pandemic. But he left the most vexing challenge to lawmakers: cuts to the state’s schools budget. Legislators spent the session crafting education budget bills. But there were differences between measures created by the House and Senate, and the two chambers could not agree on a compromise before the session ended. No reductions were implemented, nor did lawmakers find ways to generate more revenue to fund schools.

In the aftermath, Gordon announced he would launch his own effort to address the situation. He is planning a working group that can answer the question: What do Wyomingites want out of the state’s education system?

While it’s good that the governor is trying to pick up the pieces, we can’t help but note that he could have done more during the session to help the sides work toward an agreement. Yes, the governor doesn’t make legislation. But as our state’s leader, he has the ability to steer lawmakers toward a compromise, as former Gov. Matt Mead did during the 2018 session, when a similar impasse over education funding existed. This session, Gordon should have gotten involved earlier in the process and been more forceful.

Similarly, where was our state’s schools superintendent during this process? As a top elected official, Jillian Balow could have taken a vocal role in the matter. She could have explained exactly what was at stake and assessed the consequences. When President Joe Biden announced a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing on federal lands in January, she spoke up quickly. Why not on this matter, which is at least equally important?

Lawmakers also deserve blame here. We elected them to make hard choices. They worked expeditiously to address red meat issues that often have little bearing on day-to-day life in Wyoming. Yet, they couldn’t make the tough decisions on something that affects nearly all of us: our education system.

So where do we go from here? As we’ve argued before, Wyoming must develop a “basket of goods” — the educational components available to all students — that we can afford given our state’s new normal. That basket has barely been touched in years, even as the state’s financial situation, and the needs of students, have changed. We frankly can’t afford the existing basket, so it’s past time to decide on one that is within our means.

The governor and Balow should also direct school districts to assess what sizable cuts would look like for communities and then share the results with the public. That way, voters can decide for themselves whether they would support revenue increases or budget reductions. We need honest assessments to make decisions that are already overdue.

Finally, it’s important that Gordon demonstrates real leadership at this critical juncture. No one wants to be the person who makes hard choices that result in cuts to our schools. But we can’t move forward as a state until we address this nagging issue.

When a student fails to turn in their homework, teachers don’t put up with excuses. Neither should Wyoming voters. It’s past time for our leaders to turn in their answer to this most difficult of questions.

-From the April 18 Casper Star-Tribune