Our View: Funding should not be cut

With Green River’s children going back to school today, the fight to maintain adequate school funding has never been more important.

Legislators across the state, who believe themselves experts in education simply because the way they learned worked for them, see many of the school districts receiving more money than they deserve. What they’re overlooking is education in the 21st century is a world apart to the education provided 15-20 years ago. We don’t doubt the state has a huge funding gap to fill either. Rep. John Freeman, D-Green River, said the education shortfall is between $240 million and $530 million, “depending on who you ask.”

Regardless of the amount, that’s a lot of money.

What concerns us is how the legislature will act regardless of what the recalibration study recommends. The only act we see many conservative lawmakers recommending is to cut spending. The legislature is allergic to the thought of raising taxes in Wyoming, despite residents paying some of the lowest tax rates in the country. Minerals and federal funding have paid much of the bill for not only education, but the operations of the whole state. However, as mineral production continues to slump, law makers seem more willing to sacrifice the education of its future residents and the economic benefits they would provide in the future, to balance a budget today. Suggesting cuts to the state’s educational basket of goods to focus on core education would be just as disastrous as courses like art and music benefit students and keep many of them in school.

We believe a small sales tax directly benefitting the state’s education funds would be a prudent way of raising money to deflect or lessen the cuts Wyoming’s legislative body will undoubtedly push. A mild increase in property taxes to benefit Sweetwater County School District No. 2, would also assist in ensuring local students receive a quality education. Both taxes could have a sunset period included in the proposals, ending the taxes when mineral revenue and state education funding reaches a set amount per year.

Another solution would be to temporary defer earnings automatically paid into the state’s Permanent Mineral Trust Fund to the legislature’s general fund to deal with budgetary shortfalls.

Again, a sunset period could be included to resume funneling cash into the PMT once mineral royalty payments increase.

Hopefully the recalibration study recommends adjusting funding to better support Wyoming’s schools and hopefully, the legislature finds a way to make that happen.