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We are all tied together

Last week I shared about the idea that cuts mean different things to different people, and as long as your children/grandchildren are not affected, they may not bother you that much.  This week, I want to touch on how we are all tied together.  Roughly 85 percent of school budgets consist of staffing costs.  In education it is simple, we need staff to educate our students.  School funding cuts equals less people and fewer programs.  Less staff also means less patronage to our local businesses and less tax base directly affecting our local economy.  Fewer programs can have a big domino effect on our entire community.  Many of our local parents provide services and businesses that serve great Thermopolis community also have children.  If you remove a program such as a sport or activity, or change to large class sizes, or if the offerings in a school district slip below the standards of that family, they are most likely to relocate.  That may not be a problem to some until that family relocation removes an essential service out of the community.  If the family leaves that is your dentist, eye doctor, physician, accountant, mechanic, restaurant owner, etc, your quality of life, and the services you are provided locally, diminishes.  This phenomenon of the disappearance of the small town is not unique to Wyoming, but is a nationwide issue.  

I was recently asked why I might take the time to write an article for consecutive weeks on school funding? The simple answer is that it is my job as superintendent to inform the community about the status of finances and programs. Even though there have been reductions from the legislature beginning in 2010 to current date, I am writing this year every week, because we are at a critical point in the district.  Stepping out from under my “superintendent hat”, I believe that as a father, and community patron, we live in a pretty awesome place, with great people, great schools, and great services and businesses, and my hope is we can keep it that way.

Each week I ask you to speak with your representatives in state government and my hope is that you have had the opportunity.  There seems to be a feeling in the legislature that every other agency in the state has cut their budgets, but education refuses to do so.  I recently gave a list of programs and position cuts for our local district, but I will close by sharing some facts straight from the Wyoming Department of Education website to give you a better state view. Wyoming’s schools were cut $71 million over just the last two years.  46 of 48 reporting districts cut 577 positions over this biennium alone, that’s roughly 4 percent of the K-12 workforce.  44 of 46 reporting districts were forced to make cuts to educational programming in the 2017-18 school year, and educational programming cuts more than tripled from the 2016-17 school year to the 2017-18 school year.  45 out of 46 reporting districts made personnel and/or salary and benefits cuts over the 2017-18 school year.

School districts are not arguing that the revenue stream is not producing what it once did. We do understand this has been our boom and bust history for many years.  Is there a solution to break out of the cycle, or ease the peaks and valleys of funding?  Schools simply want all concerned parties to understand what is at stake if the legislature will only exclusively look at cuts to remedy the funding problem.  Please take time to visit with your local legislators, and as always, Go Cats!

 

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