Legislature ends session with education cuts, again

Wyoming’s House of Representatives saved the state’s public schools this year by blocking Senate proposals to slash school funding, according to Speaker of the House Steve Harshman. But just like last year, education advocates watched a roller-coaster legislative session end with a cut to their budgets and no clear long-term funding solution.

“There’s no doubt that the 60 members in this House have single-handedly saved K-12 education in this state,” Harshman (R-Casper) declared in a speech from the House chair March 15.

Senators had at one point proposed legislation that would have cut schools by up to $76.2 million over the next two years, according to the Legislative Service Office. Instead, the House held senators down to a $27-million reduction.

Harshman’s claims may be bittersweet for education advocates and school district superintendents. While they avoided deeper cuts, they still feel pain from the reductions, particularly in the context of losing $77 million in 2017.

Read more: http://www.wyofile.com/legislature-ends-session-education-cuts/