Senators restore full K-12 school funding after court decision
CHEYENNE – On the heels of an unfavorable district court decision on K-12 public school funding this week, state lawmakers restored the full $66.3 million external cost adjustment on Friday.
The funding was brought through an amendment introduced by Senate Majority Floor Leader Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne, to a school recalibration bill, after the Wyoming Senate nixed the supplemental budget in an unprecedented move Wednesday night.
Nethercott's amendment to House Bill 316, 'School finance-model recalibration-2,' restored the full $66.3 million cost adjustment to the K-12 block grant, after legislative appropriators had cut it down to $48.8 million in the supplemental budget. Lawmakers were told last fall the $66.3 million would put the state back on track to fully funding its K-12 public schools.
'As we know, this past week we received some information suggesting that it would be prudent to fully fund the (cost adjustment),' Nethercott said. '... I strongly suggest we do.'
Lawmakers faced external pressure to fully fund Wyoming's public schools after a Laramie County district court judge dropped a bombshell 186-page decision Wednesday, finding that Wyoming has unconstitutionally underfunded its K-12 public school system.
'The Court notes, because 2025 is a recalibration year, there is an excellent window of opportunity to address these issues,' District Judge Peter H. Froelicher wrote in his decision.
Nethercott's amendment passed by a vote of 19-12. The bill passed the Senate 29-2 and must now pass a concurrence vote in the House of Representatives. If House members concur with the Senate's amendments, the bill will go to the governor's desk for his signature.
Child development funding
Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, also attempted to tack on $4 million for child development centers to HB 316. This money was originally a mirror amendment in the supplemental budget – meaning it passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate – and it funded half of the original $8 million request by the Wyoming Department of Health.
Since the budget was nixed, this money for special education preschools was discarded with it.
'I do want to reiterate how important these centers are,' Landen said.
Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper (2025)
Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper
Representatives from child development centers, including STRIDE Learning Center in Cheyenne, have long told legislators they're at risk of permanently shutting their doors due to insufficient state funding.
After the Senate announced it would not pass the supplemental budget, lawmakers quickly worked to find homes for budget items through amendments to various bills. However, some lawmakers pushed back against these amendments, arguing it violated legislative procedure.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Tim Salazar, R-Riverton, who is a strong supporter of child development center funding, said Friday he regrettably could not support Landen's amendment, because it was not germane to the bill.
Sen. Tim Salazar, R-Riverton (2025)
Sen. Tim Salazar, R-Riverton
'Everyone here knows how I feel about this issue. I fought tooth and nail for this in the budget,' Salazar said. 'But I need to be intellectually honest – I am concerned about the germaneness of this, in this bill. … It has nothing to do, as you all know, with how I feel about this issue.'
Landen's amendment failed to pass the Senate, but a similar approach is taking place down the hall. Rep. Elissa Campbell, R-Casper, made a similar attempt, adding the $4 million child development center appropriation to Senate File 22.
Although her amendment failed, Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, told the WTE there could be more attempts to add child development center funding to Senate bills in the House next week. As for the Senate, Landen told the WTE he would not be making any more amendments.
'I am disappointed with today's vote, but I will continue to fight for the work our (child development centers) do,' Landen said in a text message.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
27 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Is Elon Musk right to oppose the budget bill? What Americans said in a new poll
During his public falling out with President Donald Trump, Elon Musk slammed the president's proposed spending bill — dubbed the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' — claiming it will balloon the deficit. It turns out, most Americans agree with his critique, new polling reveals. In the latest Economist/YouGov poll, half of respondents were asked to react to a statement from Musk on the GOP-backed spending bill, which passed in the House without a single Democratic vote. The legislation, Musk wrote on X on June 3, 'will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion and burden (American) citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.' A majority of respondents, 56%, said they agreed with this statement, while just 17% said they disagreed. More than one-quarter, 27%, said they were unsure. The answers were largely linked to partisan affiliation, with Democrats largely siding with Musk for a change. Seventy-two percent of Democrats said they concurred with the billionaire's statement about the spending bill, as did 55% of independents. Among Republicans, a plurality, 44%, said they agreed. The poll — which sampled 1,533 U.S. adults June 6-9 — posed the same statement before the other half of respondents, but this time, it did not attribute it to Musk. Without reference to Musk, a slightly smaller share, 49%, said they agreed with the statement, while 23% said they disagreed. Smaller shares of Republicans, independents and Democrats agreed, though Democrats saw the largest decrease in support — from 72% to 60%. The poll has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points. More on the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' The spending bill, which provides funding for fiscal year 2025, passed in the House in a 215-214 vote in late May and is now under consideration in the Senate. It contains many pieces of Trump's agenda, including a road map to extend the 2017 tax cuts, as well as an increase in funding for the Pentagon and border security, according to previous reporting from McClatchy News. At the same time, it slashes funding for social programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Further — to Musk's point — it would increase the federal deficit by $3.8 trillion over the next 10 years, according to an analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan agency. In addition to Musk, the bill has received criticism from several other prominent conservatives in Congress. One of the most vocal opponents has been Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who wrote on X that 'the spending proposed in this bill is unsustainable, we cannot continue spending at these levels if we want to truly tackle our debt.' Other Republican lawmakers have come out in defense of the bill, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has said the legislation will deliver 'historic tax relief, ensure our border stays secure, strengthen our military, and produce historic savings.' Meanwhile, Democrats have been united in their opposition. In a statement, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries labeled the bill 'the GOP Tax Scam' and said it would rip 'healthcare and food assistance away from millions of people in order to provide tax cuts to the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected.'
E&E News
44 minutes ago
- E&E News
Senate confirms EPA nominee, advances Agriculture pick
The Senate voted Tuesday to confirm David Fotouhi as EPA deputy administrator while setting the stage to similarly approve Stephen Vaden to become second-in-command at the Agriculture Department. Senators confirmed Fotouhi, an industry lawyer who also served in President Donald Trump's first administration, by a 53-41 margin along party lines. They then voted 48-45 to end debate on Vaden's nomination, with the final confirmation vote scheduled for later Tuesday afternoon. Fotouhi is the third of Trump's EPA picks to secure confirmation, after Administrator Lee Zeldin and general counsel Sean Donahue. A half-dozen nominations are still pending, including those of Aaron Szabo to head the Office of Air and Radiation and Jessica Kramer to lead the Office of Water. Advertisement After serving in top jobs in EPA's Office of General Counsel during Trump's first term, Fotouhi has spent the last few years as a partner at the firm of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, where his client list has encompassed numerous businesses regulated by EPA, including carmakers Toyota and Mercedes-Benz and Matador Resources, an oil and gas producer, according to a financial disclosure report.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Three dozen House Republicans urge Senate GOP against ‘budget gimmicks,' deficit increases
More than three dozen House Republicans are warning Senate GOP leaders against approving additional deficit increases or using 'budget gimmicks' to count additional savings in the 'one big beautiful bill' of President Trump's tax cut and spending priorities. 'As the Senate considers changes, we remain unequivocal in our position that any additional tax cuts must be matched dollar-for-dollar by real, enforceable spending reductions,' the 37 members, led by Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.), said in a Tuesday letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), adding that the principle is the 'cornerstone' of the budget resolution framework passed by the House and is the 'minimum standard for our support.' The letter further asserted that the members would consider 'genuine savings only' as established by that House resolution. 'Offsets must come from permanent reforms that make the budget more sustainable, not timing shifts or other budget gimmicks,' the letter said. Among the signatories are House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), House Republican Conference Vice Chair Blake Moore (R-Utah), and many members of the House Freedom Caucus, including its chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.). The Senate is currently considering and expected to make changes to the House-passed megabill that includes extension of tax cuts that Trump signed into law in 2017; boosts to border, deportation, and defense funding; and new restrictions on Medicaid and food assistance programs that are project to result in millions of individuals losing their health insurance. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the proposed tax cuts in the plan would decrease revenues by more than $3.6 trillion over a decade, while measures to cut federal spending — including reforms to Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program —would reduce outlays by $1.2 trillion over the same period, resulting in a net deficit increase of $2.4 trillion. Several matters under consideration in the Senate would add to the deficit impact of the bill. Some GOP senators are unhappy with provisions to terminate clean energy tax breaks, while others are objecting to the around $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid through provisions like increased work requirements and $267 billion in cuts to food assistance through provisions like making states share the cost of the program for the first time. 'A reconciliation bill that relaxes fiscal discipline reflected in the House-passed bill would invite higher borrowing costs and undermine the economic growth that Americans need to maximize opportunity,' the 37 House GOP members said in the letter. 'We urge Senate leadership to keep the reconciliation measure compatible with the House framework while seizing every opportunity to deepen savings.'
