The Wyoming Education Association is deeply concerned by the latest actions advanced by the Freedom Caucus in the Wyoming Legislature. These proposals represent sweeping disinvestment in our state’s public institutions and a fundamental misunderstanding of what our communities need to thrive.
Their agenda before us includes defunding the Wyoming Business Council, cutting $40 million from the University of Wyoming, eliminating $88 million from the consultants’ recommended evidence-based school funding model, increasing class sizes, cutting more than 700 full-time education jobs, stripping local control from school districts by mandating a single state insurance plan, and eliminating property taxes without a sustainable replacement.
These are not efficiency measures. They are policy choices, choices that weaken public education, destabilize local communities, and undermine Wyoming’s long-term economic future.
Public schools are the backbone of our communities. Our state’s educators are not line items to be eliminated; they are professionals who support students, families, and local economies. Local control is not a talking point; it is a Wyoming value that ensures decisions are made by the people who know their communities best.
Wyoming’s students, educators, and families deserve leaders who are willing to invest in education, respect local decision-making, and plan responsibly for the future. The WEA will continue to stand up for our public schools, our education professionals, and the communities they serve across our state.