The following opinion piece is a community submission and doesn’t reflect the opinion of TRN Media, which encompasses SweetwaterNOW and The Radio Network. 

By Marko N. Rubich

In every Wyoming town, including Rock Springs and Green River, there are institutions that provide a common backbone upon which the community rests.  In Sweetwater County, these institutions include places like the hospital, the library, the schools, and the local businesses. Vital among these institutions in our community is Western Wyoming College. The College is where students discover future opportunities, where investment ensures our talent stays local, where our major employers find a trained and skilled workforce, where families gather for events. Western Wyoming College is not just an educational institution; it is part of the heartbeat of our community.

That heartbeat has been under major pressure. Legislative property tax exemptions over the last several cycles have removed more than $13 million from the eight state community colleges. Those dollars matter here at home. With fewer resources to our colleges comes fewer course offerings, aging facilities, limited program expansion, and staff reductions. When funding erodes, the community feels it — because the college’s strength is directly tied to the strength of the towns around it.

Proposition #1 on the November ballot would exacerbate these losses, creating even more uncertainty for institutions already absorbing significant cuts. As a community member, I worry about what that means for our local workforce, our young people, and the businesses that rely on Western Wyoming College to train employees for our local industries.  I don’t want to see our local talent be exported to surrounding states where better educational opportunities exist because we choose not to invest in our own future. When the college struggles, the community struggles. When the college thrives, the community thrives.

Wyoming’s community colleges deliver extraordinary value — educational, economic, and civic. They are part of who we are. Preserving their stability is essential to keeping our communities strong, vibrant, and full of opportunity.