During the Wyoming Legislature’s “interim” session this summer and fall, small groups of lawmakers met as committees to discuss specific issues and to craft bills to sponsor for the 2026 budget session, which starts Feb. 9.
Better Wyoming volunteers have engaged with a number of these issues, often attending or testifying at meetings, writing op-eds, and contacting lawmakers.
In a series of blog posts, we bring folks up to date with where committees landed and what folks can expect during the session.
ISSUE: Last year, a judge ruled that the Wyoming Legislature underfunds the state's K-12 public school system and suggested that the "recalibration" process provided an opportunity to fix the problem.
COMMITTEE: Select Committee on School Finance Recalibration
FINAL MEETING: Jan. 22 - 23, Cheyenne
Overview
The Select Committee on School Finance Recalibration is tasked with adjusting funding levels for K-12 public schools to match the actual cost required to deliver a quality education to all Wyoming children.
Last February, a District Court judge ruled that the state is underfunding the K-12 public school system. He wrote that recalibration gives the state “an excellent window of opportunity” to address low salaries for teachers, underfunding elementary-level mental health counselors, school resource officers, nutritional programs, and computers for students.
Unfortunately, after a series of meetings over the last several months, the committee decided to increase teacher salaries and ignore all other education issues that lack funding.
Despite maintaining an outstanding overall public school system, this chronic underfunding leads to acute problems, including a teacher shortage and unmet youth mental health crises.
The Recalibration Committee will meet one more time during the “interim session” to finalize its proposal, on Jan. 22 - 23 in Cheyenne.
The Good
Teacher salaries
The average salary paid to teachers for the 2024-25 school year was $65,265. The committee voted for an 8.5% “external cost adjustment” that would bump the average to $70,812. The national average is about $75,000.
The Wyoming Education Association noted the average starting salary for teachers is about $40,000. Low salaries for beginning teachers is a primary reason why it’s difficult to recruit and retain teachers.
Even this good aspect has a dark underside, as the committee declined to include salary increases for other educators, such as paraprofessionals and instructional facilitators.
The Bad
Student-to-teacher ratios
The current K-12 funding model includes a 21:1 student-to-teacher ratio in grades 4-12. But the committee is considering raising it to 25:1.
More students in the classrooms would save the state an estimated $68 million while lowering the full-time equivalent allocation by about 764 core teachers. But having more students in the classroom can have harmful education impacts.
Health insurance
The committee’s proposal would force school districts to use the state’s health insurance plan instead of choosing their own, often cheaper option.
Increased health insurance costs could cut into or even eliminate the pay increases teachers receive as a result of recalibration.
Mental health counselors
Wyoming needs more school mental health counselors to address the rising rates of youth mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, bullying and suicidality.
Untreated mental illness can lead to high rates of school dropout, unemployment, substance use, arrest, incarceration and early death.
The committee plans to ignore the problem and maintain inadequate counselor staffing levels.
School Resource Officers
The committee ignored calls to hire more school resource officers to improve security. "We're doing everything we can, but you're not paying the bill,” said Jeremy Smith, Sheridan County School District No. 1 business manager.
Computers
A proposal to pay for each student to have a computer was shot down by the committee, despite this being a specific part of the court ruling against the legislature.
The state’s recalibration consultant noted that aside from salary levels, this topic was the most commonly identified as inadequately funded by the state’s model.
What’s Next
The recalibration committee will meet Jan. 22-23 in Cheyenne to consider amendments, hear testimony, and direct Legislative staff to finalize the bill they will sponsor for the 2026 budget session.
People can watch the committee in person beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the Capitol Extension, Room E0005, or on the Legislature’s YouTube channel.