Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/956367
Spring 2018 | wyoea.org 14 to students are reduced. Any cut to education hurts all kids in Wyoming. A district-by-district summary of the ADM, groundkeepers, and assessment reductions, as estimated by the Legislative Services Office, can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/DistrictImpactHB140 The state budget bill, House Enrolled Act No 62, passed both houses with funding for a new Carey Jr. High in Cheyenne intact. The bill had no cuts to education and, through the veto process, Governor Mead doubled the distribution from the Federal Mineral Royalties Account into the School Foundation Program. This will result in approximately $12.7 million increase to the school foundation for FY 2019- 2020. Since it is in the budget, this is only a 2-year appropriation, but we hope to guide the legislature to search for other ways to use reserves to continue to fund quality education in Wyoming. Thank You, Friends of Education! WEA is proud of the strong relationships we have built with legislators; many continue to be champions for education and Wyoming's school children. Throughout the session we received unwavering support from the following legislators: Rep. Steve Harshman, Rep. David Northrup, Rep. Albert Sommers, Sen. Jeff Wasserburger, Rep. Mark Kinner, Rep. Bob Nicholas, Sen. John Hastert, Rep. John Freeman, Rep. Stan Blake, Rep. Mike Gierau, Rep. Jerry Paxton, Rep. Cathy Connolly, Rep. Debbie Bovee, Rep. Tom Walters, Sen. Chris Rothfuss, Sen. Liisa Anselmi-Dalton, Rep. James Byrd, Rep. JoAnn Dayton, Rep. Jamie Flitner, Rep. Charles Pelkey, Rep. Gary Piiparinen, Sen. Stephan Pappas, Rep. Andy Schwartz, Rep. Landon Brown, and Rep. Bo Biteman. "The supreme quality of leadership is integrity." --Dwight D. Eisenhower It is a rare opportunity for Wyoming schools when a legislative leader is a teacher and member of Wyoming Education Association. For the past two sessions, Speaker of the House Steve Harshman has fought valiantly for public school funding in Wyoming. Through his work on the Select Committees on School Finance Recalibration and School Facilities and his leadership in the House, Harshman demonstrated true leadership and integrity. While listening to unfounded, negative attacks on student performance, Harshman patiently and logically described how education funding fits into Wyoming's economy and how well our students and teachers perform daily in our schools. When "needed cuts to education" were presented, Harshman found practical, long-term solutions to the school funding deficit. Although cuts were made to education, under Harshman's leadership the House prevented the devastating cuts the Senate badly desired. Our hats are off to Speaker Harshman! Thank you for your leadership for the students of Wyoming! "Fortunately, our friends in the legislature, and YOU our members, rallied to defeat these bills, which would have created an inequitable and inadequate educational system in Wyoming." Steve Harshman, Speaker of the House Steve Harshman Working For Education