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WORLAND — Let local officials make the cuts where they need to, not the legislature, was the overwhelming message officials from Washakie County School Districts No. 1 and 2, Big Horn County School District No. 4 and Park County School District 16 (Meeteetse) gave to three area legislators Tuesday.

The meeting, hosted by Washakie County District 1 in Worland, was an opportunity for Big Horn Basin educators to talk to legislators about education issues that will be of topic during the 20-day budget session that starts Feb. 12.

RESOLUTION

Washakie County District 1 Superintendent David Nicholas presented the legislators — Rep. Mike Greear (R-Worland), Rep. Jamie Flitner (R-Greybull) and Sen. Wyatt Agar (R-Thermopolis) — with a resolution drafted by administrators at Worland and adopted by the Wyoming School Boards Association last month.

The resolution states “Be it resolved that the Wyoming School Boards Association encourages the legislature to utilize funds from the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account (i.e., Rainy-Day Account) to the extent practical to make up for the gap in funding between anticipated revenue to the School Foundation Account and anticipated expenditures.”

The rationale for the resolution, according to Nicholas, is that the state’s economy appears to be improving with the recent Consensus Revenue Estimating Group (CREG) indicating state revenues are ahead of projections.

Nicholas said, “Further cuts to education would cause undue hardships to Wyoming school districts. It seems appropriate to utilize savings from the state’s rainy-day account to cover what appear to be short-term gaps in funding resources. At the very least, funds from the rainy-day account should be used to offset any further cuts to education.”

He added that he and district Business Manager Jack Stott both are conservative thinkers and they had to cut approximately $700,000 from the budget, reduced staff by seven teachers through attrition and early retirement incentive.

“I’m not a whiner or complainer, but if you hit me with another 3 percent [cut] this district is going to look different. We can do it and will do it, but it will look different,” Nicholas said.

Greear said that last year he made an amendment about a half-cent sales tax for education and was subsequently placed on the conference committee. At that time, the Senate was adamant about no taxes.

But coming out of conference committee, the education funding bill that was approved provided language similar to the WSBA resolution — that the rainy day fund provides a backstop for funding education. “It was the right decision because it gets us moving forward,” Greear said.

Greear said, “The reality we have to face is our country is not going to use coal like it has in the past,” due in part to wind and solar energy, environmentalists and the cheaper price of natural gas. “Coal is not going to be the strong backbone of the Wyoming economy.”

The new normal for Wyoming, regarding revenues, Greear said, is “a little bit better than where it is now.”

SPECIAL EDUCATION AND TRANSPORTATION

Greear said while the stopgap is in place for education funding, he still feels there are fundamental issues that need to be looked at in regard to education funding, including special education and transportation.

Regarding transportation, “everyone agrees we can be done better,” Greear said.

Regarding special education, Greear said Wyoming appears to be funding a “platinum plan,” but he also realizes it is not an easy solution to simply cut special education since so many programs are impacted.

Big Horn School District 4 Superintendent Dave Kerby said he thinks it’s incredible the special education resources available in Wyoming, but at the same time he has wonders how long it can be sustained at that level.

“We have 14 special education [paraprofessionals] funded for that purpose. I’d hate to lose it, but in my mind it’s something to consider.”

CONSOLIDATION

Nicholas noted that there was discussion about consolidation but a state study showed a savings of just $8 million.

Greear said he agrees that savings on consolidating districts is small, adding that as a native of Clearmont he is not a fan of consolidation.

Park County 16 (Meeteetse) Superintendent Shane Ogden said one report on consolidation specifically targeted Meeteetse and Ten Sleep in being “real high” in overhead in administration. “A lot of that comes by how you have to label people. As superintendent I teach a class every day. I’m also the transportation director, our AD is also a teacher, but when you go to the state report it shows he is an AD.”

He said the district has 17 full-time employees and two administrators, which exceeds the level “but each one of us wears many hats.”

TOO MUCH ON EDUCATION?

Jamie Flitner asked the education administrators gathered in the District 1 board room their thoughts when people tell her that Wyoming spends too much per student on education.

Nicholas said, “You’ve built a great system. A lot of people moved here because of the system. I’m one of them.” Nicholas came to Worland from South Dakota. Jimmy Phelps, District 1 (Ten Sleep) Superintendent, moved to Ten Sleep from Tennessee, but also worked in Arkansas. Park County 16 (Meeteetse) Superintendent Shane Ogden came from Idaho and Utah.

Nicholas said with the recent cuts, “We have less people doing more work” and if that trend continues there will be a point where the staff does not like it. “You diminish the effort you’ll lose the quality. I think our current system is worth fighting for.”

He added that people in Wyoming should not worry about what other states are doing but about doing what’s right for Wyoming. Wyoming is unique and a lot of things cost more in Wyoming than other states.

“It’s OK to have a nice system, it’s OK to treat kids this way,” Nicholas added.

Addressing the question of results for the money, Nicholas said Wyoming continues to improve academically.

Phelps added Washakie County District 2 board stepped up and made difficult decisions to cut $250,000.

He added that as a superintendent in Arkansas for a lot of years, they don’t spend as much money on education in Wyoming “but they do not have near the education as we do in Wyoming. I believe in the correlation between what you spend and the quality you get.”

Ten Sleep’s starting salary, one of the lowest in the state, is at $40,500, but he noted that has allowed them to “steal” some teachers from Montana. “We’ve picked up some very good teachers that way.

Ogden said, “We really try to do the very best we can with what we have. I know that’s not always been the sentiment [across the state in all districts].”

In Park County 16, he said they reduced staff by two on a staff of 17 teachers. “That’s a 10 percent decrease just in staffing. We actually had more revenue with enrollment coming up.” He said they new the budget situation likely wasn’t going to get better so they opted not to replace employees who left.

“For each position we lose we end up losing a program. We are now offering more online courses, but those aren’t free,” he added. “We’re resilient; we find a way to do it.”

Regarding transportation, Ogden said while buses are reimbursed 100 percent, they still have stayed frugal and work to get the most out of their buses before replacing a bus. He noted every superintendent takes a different approach.

WHERE TO CUT

“Where should the cuts come from. Beyond recalibration, what can we do logically?” she asked.

Nicholas said his district would prefer a percent cut to the block grant because it is the easiest to deal with.

Phelps agreed, “Cut a percentage, tell us what it is we’ll make it happen. I’m not saying it’s won’t hurt …”

Ogden said his district supports the resolution, “but we realize we are a player we have to find ways overcome. In talking with our trustees, we would rather make the cuts at the local level. Let the local trustees determine what is the most important program we’re not going to lose, what are ones we can afford to lose.”

Kerby said, “I’m with the other superintendents, it is much more palatable if we can discuss locally what programs we can combine.”

Big Horn District 4 Business Manager Andy DeGraw asked if the state actually could make a flat cut.

Greear said that because of the structure they are currently in for funding education, they cannot make a flat percentage cut, but they can make changes that give districts flexibility. He said they may increase class size by one or two. “Just because we say fund so many in a classroom, doesn’t mean that’s how many you put in the classroom.”

Flitner added that across-the board cuts are felt the most by rural school districts. “We’ll do whatever we can to not feel that if we can.”

Phelps said he has concerns about a proposal from the education committee on health care to modify the health insurance allocation through the funding model. “I would be reluctant to make cuts to the block grant that way,” he said, adding that the proposal would mean about a $90,000 cut to his district.

Greear said, “I hear over and over ‘if you make cuts, give us the discretion.’” Adding that districts “always find a way to teach their kids.”

The Legislature, he said, has to balance the education needs, with other needs in the state, including cities, towns and counties, prisoners, care to indigents and more.

He added, “The final CREG report will give us a better feel. I don’t think it’s going to be too bad, but that’s not to say weshouldn’t keep looking at things.”

Flitner added, “The banker tells me, we can’t spend money we don’t have.” It is the same with the Legislature, she said, “We’re going to do the best we can so everyone gets funded but do it within our means.”

All the superintendents expressed appreciation to the legislators for the work they do and how they have built a great education system.