The Wyoming Legislature passed amendments Tuesday morning that could save Teton County schools from deep cuts.
House Bill 61 deals with the quinquennial recalibration of the school funding model, and it originally proposed cutting $100 million from schools around the state for the next fiscal year. However the House Education Committee narrowly passed an amendment that would increase the sales tax by 1% when the rainy day fund dips below $650 million, eventually raising around $164 million each year for schools.
That would decrease the proposed cuts to $22 million.
Without the increased state revenue, school funding is projected to face a roughly $300 million shortfall each of the next three years. Although the original bill would infuse schools with cash from the rainy day fund for a couple of years, it also makes massive cuts to cover the shortfall.
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With teacher vaccinations imminent, the Teton County School District board of trustees charged into the heated topic of increasing the number of days students should spend in class, face to face with a teacher.
Trustees met Thursday night for a special meeting with just one agenda item: considering changes to the districtâs hybrid schedule, particularly at the secondary level.
In a 5-2 vote, the board elected to increase in-class days for middle and high school students to four a week starting April 12, right after spring break.
Secondary students have been going to school on an A/B schedule in which each group has two days in the classroom.
Ahead of the school boardâs Thursday special meeting, nearly 200 people are making it known where they stand on in-person learning.
A petition is circling in Jackson, started by parents Alex Hillinger and Megan Beck, along with a couple other families, that expresses support for increasing the number of classroom days for middle and high school students. As of press time, the petition â which is at IPetitions.com/petition/give-schools-a-chance â had garnered at least 165 signatures.
âIt is time to start stepping towards offering more school for children, given that thereâs going to be more protections in place for the staff,â Beck told the Jackson Hole Daily on Wednesday, referring to the fact that educators are eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine this month.
Teton County school administrators and trustees want their elected representatives to fight for their interests in the upcoming session of the Wyoming Legislature.