 - The Wyoming Legislature’s Select Committee on School Finance Recalibration has identified several potential options for addressing the funding shortfall that has impacted many school activities budgets this year due to recent changes to the state’s K-12 funding model.){kind=link}
(Lander, WY) – The Wyoming Legislature’s Select Committee on School Finance Recalibration has identified several potential options for addressing the funding shortfall that has impacted many school activities budgets this year due to recent changes to the state’s K-12 funding model.
The method used to calculate student activity funding for school districts in Wyoming was modified during this year’s budget session, Legislative Service Office Deputy Administrator Matt Willmarth explained during a committee meeting last week in Lander.
For the past 20 years, those funding amounts have been calculated based on enrollment totals at individual schools, Willmarth said – but this year, the legislature decided to utilize a “district-based formula” instead.
As a result, Willmarth said 26 districts are slated to receive more activities funding this year than they would have in the past – including Fremont County School District 14 (Ethete), FCSD 21 (Fort Washakie), FCSD 38 (Arapahoe), FCSD 24 (Shoshoni), FCSD 2 (Dubois), and FCSD 6 (Pavillion) – while 22 are estimated to see a decrease in activities funding – including FCSD 1 (Lander) and FCSD 25 (Riverton).
Lawmakers were aware of those impacts when they adopted the district-based funding formula earlier this year, Willmarth noted – but at that time, the legislature had not yet created the instructional resources silo that now limits districts’ flexibility to shift money between funding categories.
“I don’t think districts made a big deal of it back then because the restriction of funds (wasn’t) known yet,” he said. “(Now) the block grant has restricted their ability to move funds from other parts of the model to make up potential decreases.”
Options
In order to address the issue, Willmarth said the legislature could consider allowing student activities funding to be “embedded” in the instructional resources silo.
That way, districts would “have the fungibility within that large expenditure category to account for these differences,” he said.
But Wyoming Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan, wondered how that strategy would impact the increases in educator pay that were included in the instructional silo – and Willmarth agreed “that is (a) potential risk.”
“If you move that route, student activity funding competes with those classroom dollars,” Willmarth said.
Instead, Wyoming Rep. Scott Heiner, R-Green River, who co-chairs the committee, asked whether it would be helpful to revert back to the school-based funding formula for student activities.
Willmarth said that move would only “reverse the order of the districts” on the funding chart, generally benefitting those that lost money under the new formula while reducing funding for those that gained.
In that case, Wyoming Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, suggested that the state could offer districts a “best of” option, allowing those that benefited from the school-based activities funding formula to use that calculation while letting those that fared better under the new model to use the district-based formula.
“That might be the most eloquent solution, or the path of least resistance,” Willmarth said.
Plus, Wyoming Sen. Tim Salazar, R-Riverton, who co-chairs the committee, said, “under this particular option, no one gets hurt.”
“There are some schools that will get somewhat more, but no one will lose their original amount,” he said.
Public comment
Two local residents testified about the activities funding situation during last week’s meeting, including Lander parent Randy Wise, who said he was “really encouraged and pleased” that the legislative committee was “trying to solve (this) problem.”
“I can tell you quite frankly that parents in Lander, myself included, are really aggravated about this – very, very angry – (and) I suspect very strongly that most parents across the state feel the same way,” he said. “So … I appreciate what you’re trying to do.”
Wise has two sons who have both participated in activities like swimming, cross country, marching band, and drama during their time in FCSD 1 in Lander, and he said, “those experiences, those activities, those teams, those coaches – that made them who they are.”
School activities help to define the community too, Wise continued, describing high levels of support for the swim team, high school drama productions, and other events among local residents.
“It’s not just about students; it’s not just about teachers – it’s about the community,” Wise said. “And that’s what I want to emphasize in particular, is: Doing what the plan is now is hollowing out these communities. And that’s not what we’re here for. This is our home. We need to do everything we can to keep our communities strong. And that starts with our families and our students.”
Lander School Board Trustee Mara Gans also weighed in during last week’s discussion, sharing her experience as a local student who participated in activities like marching band and swimming before leaving the state after high school.
It was activities that brought her back to Wyoming, Gans recalled.
“I had the opportunity to coach for the Lander Nordic Ski Team, and I stuck around,” she said.
Now, as a school board trustee, Gans said she is part of a team that is working through the “abrupt changes to the funding model” that the legislature implemented this year, which have “forced our district to cut activities in a way that is having a huge impact on students and our community.”
“Our district is pulling from reserve emergency funds to fund a lot of the shortfalls,” she said. “We are significantly reducing hours at the pool, which has an impact on the whole community. … We are also likely going to reduce coaches within the district and reduce travel for sports, (and) we chose to not rehire a counselor. …
“The loss of local control and the abrupt change is causing us to cut wherever we can while still trying to protect the essential services to our students.”
When Heiner asked whether the changes the committee discussed during the meeting might impact some of those decisions, Gans said “any reassurance from the state that there is a long-term solution coming would help our district get creative for the next year in order to hope that there is a better solution in the future.”
She also advocated for an increase in state support for school activities, noting that, “regardless of the model you use, (Wyoming) does not match actual expenditures within school districts.” 
“I appreciate the state’s work to be fiscally conservative,” she said. “(But) by supporting Wyoming students in activities when they are young, we will grow a healthier population that will reduce future expenses within the state.”
She cited research that “consistently shows that participation in physical activity and extracurriculars provides mentorship, meaningful connection, and healthy hobbies that can reduce the likelihood for chronic disease, substance abuse (and) mental health crises, and increase the likelihood of graduation and forming healthy and positive relationships,” arguing that, “by supporting Wyoming students in activities when they are young, we will grow a healthier population that will reduce future expenses within the state in health care and department of corrections.”
“Funding school activities based upon actual expenditures. … is one of the best preventative strategies for reducing health care costs and for mitigating the number of people who may need to be incarcerated with in our state, which could save our state money in the long run,” she said.
‘We have listened’
At the end of last week’s meeting, Willmarth said he would offer the committee “more precise figures” related to Yin’s proposal in August.
The committee’s August meeting will have a “much narrower focus,” Heiner said, adding that, by October, “we’ll be working on a bill draft to bring to (the) next session of the legislature.”
“(I’m) excited about what we’ve come up with for activities,” Heiner said. “There’s still some loose ends – some rough edges – but we’ve got an idea that may solve the problem and be a win-win for all school districts so that there’s no school districts that actually lose money for activities.”
Before adjournment, Salazar expressed hope that the committee’s work during the meeting demonstrated that the lawmakers involved “truly want to bring education funding forward in Wyoming.”
“We care about our children,” he said, thanking those who testified during public comment. “We have listened. We will continue to listen.”