Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/916449
Winter 2017 | wyoea.org 18 Recalibration, Revenue Committee Updates it matters to our students, it matters to our parents, and it matters to everyone in the K-12 education system. Now, more than ever, it is critical that we elect and keep in office the right legislators for K-12 education. We can do this if we join and contribute to WEA- PACE (Political Action Committee for Education). This is money that stays in Wyoming, and allows WEA to support the election campaigns of member-selected endorsed candidates for the 2018 legislative election. Who gets elected in 2018 matters more than ever, and we need WEA-PACE contributions to make it happen. I am asking every member to make an early 2018 donation of $18 to WEA-PACE. This is $2.00 a month from December – August, or 50 cents a week, and it could make a world of difference in the upcoming election. I'm calling it "18 in 18!" Again, these contributions stay in Wyoming, and work to elect legislators who value the high-quality education we provide our children. The WEA-PACE Contribution Form can be found at: http://wyoea.org/wea-pace/. Tammy Schroeder, Government Relations Director, tschroeder@wyoea.org "No longer do we have the robust mineral industry upon which we rely for 70% of the state's budget." Recalibration: School funding recalibration consultants Augenblick, Palaich, and Associates (APA) recently made preliminary recommendations to the Select Committee on Recalibration of School Finance. The recommendations are based in part on information gathered through professional judgement panels, a study of successful schools in Wyoming, and the practitioner panels held throughout the state. The key recommendations are: Class size: gr. K-3: 16:1; gr. 4-12: 23:1; overall average class size: 17:1; Instructional facilitators: 1:15 teachers; Nurses: 1:750 ADM; Support staff (counselors, social workers, etc.): 1:200 ADM; Library/Media: 1:300 ADM; Special Education: Continue funding at 100% reimbursement; Pre-school: Voluntary ½-day preschool for 4-year-olds; School Resource Officers: 1 per building, as funds allow. These are preliminary recommendations that have not been costed by APA. More details, along with the rationale for the recommendations, can be found at http://legisweb.state.wy.us/InterimCommittee/2017/SSR-11292017AppendixK.pdf. Final recommendations will be made January 23 and 24 at the final recalibration meeting. Revenue: The December Revenue Committee meeting ended with only three pieces of proposed legislation moving forward: a proposal to divert allowable state mineral royalties to the school construction fund ($42 mil./year), a $1.00/pack tax on tobacco, and an increase in the liquor markup allowance. Bills still pending before the committee, to be discussed on January 31, are a sales tax on specified services, an increase in property tax, a diversion of severance taxes into the general fund ($88 mil/year), and a ½% increase in sales tax, to be used for capital construction for schools. A proposal on wind tax died before being brought to the committee. As always, contact your legislator to let him or her know that Wyoming voters are in favor of tax increases if they are used to fund education, they do not want cuts to education, and they continue to want a high-quality education for their children.