ROCK SPRINGS — The Sweetwater County School District No. 1 Cost Savings Task Force is well underway exploring avenues to save the district money in anticipation of major budget cuts over the next several years.
The task force consists of 42 people from all departments of the district and community, and have met twice since forming last month. The group will meet two more times over the next two Thursdays, according to superintendent Kelly McGovern.
The task force is exploring numerous angles to trim the budget by 10% over the next fiscal year as requested by Govern Mark Gordon. Gordon has asked school districts statewide to brace for a economic downturn that could have a devastating affect on education in Wyoming.
Areas such as insurance and class sizes are being looked at by the task force. McGovern fears that increasing class sizes would have a negative effect not only on staff, but students as well.
“My greatest fear is to ever have to increase class sizes, but we thought it was a good factual piece for people to know. Increasing class sizes would have a horrible impact on our students.”
Sweetwater County School District No. 1 Superintedent Kelly McGovern
Class Size Impacts
Increasing class sizes would also have an impact on staff positions. Adding just a few more students in each class per school could results in as many as 10 staff members losing their jobs. Bumping class sizes up to 30 students could result in 29 staff positions being eliminated under the hypothetical model created by the district.
All of these charts can be reviewed in the Cost Savings Task Force portal on the district’s website.
The estimated budget funding gap over the next three fiscal years does not paint a rosy picture for SCSD No. 1. The district anticipates a budget shortage of $3.02 million next year, $7.8 million in FY 2023, and $12.84 million in FY 2024.
The reduction in funding is largely due to a decrease in Average Daily Membership (ADM). The Wyoming Legislature model automatically adjusts for these fluctuations through the block grant and major maintenance funding formula. Simply put, the lower a district’s enrollment, the less funding it gets from the state.
One Cent Sales Tax
Trustee John Bettolo sits on the task force and urged the board to find a solution “other than gutting our school district.”
Board chairwomen Carol Jelco said she and McGovern have been testifying for several months before the Wyoming Legislature’s Select Committee on Recalibration (SCR) about ways to increase funding.
Jelaco said the state is bracing for a 16.1% budget cut in the next biennium, and a 13% cut in the biennium following that one.
The SCR has asked Wyoming school boards to discuss ideas with their communities on generating more revenue. A growing idea focuses on passing a resolution that would dedicate all of the revenue from a one-cent sales tax increase to education.
“We’re looking at massive budget cuts here,” Jelaco said. “Please have discussions with people that you meet, because the situation is dire.”
She said state projections show a one-cent sales tax increase would generate about $250 million per year and that amount “would fill the gap.” But the key aspect of the resolution will be a total commitment to funding education.
The SCR is meeting again on December 14-15, and McGovern is hoping to bring ideas and solutions to the meeting that will jump start funding in a positive direction.
The district held two public input meetings this morning and will have another one tonight from 5:30-7 pm. It has also created an email dedicated to gathering information provided by SCSD No. 1 shareholders. Residents can share their thoughts at communications@sw1.k12.wy.us.
