Nearly every fall, the Joint Appropriations Committee meets to finalize its annual K-12 inflation recommendation, signaling to Gov. Mark Gordon and the Wyoming Legislature the additional money the group thinks schools need to keep up with rising costs. 

In previous years, those figures have been small, perhaps a percentage point or two. More recently, they have blown up as the U.S. and other economies have struggled to rein in inflation. 

At times, the Joint Appropriations Committee has disagreed with the exact supplement for schools. 

The panel cut this year’s inflation adjustment, also called the “external cost adjustment,” by roughly 40% from the $70 million originally suggested by the Joint Education Committee only to have Gordon set aside the group’s recommendation and approve the full amount. 

Wednesday morning, though, there was no dispute. Lawmakers on the panel agreed with their counterparts on the Joint Education Committee, recommending to Gordon and the Legislature a full cost adjustment of $68 million for the 2024- 2025 school year. 

Though they asked questions, those on the panel did not debate the amount or consider shrinking the total, which equates to roughly 4% of the state’s projected $1.6 billion K-12 budget. Instead, they contextualized their endorsement, noting that the panel weighs the state’s fiscal picture and doesn’t always adopt the recommendations of the Joint Education Committee and Wyoming’s school finance consultants. 

“We’re trying to work the balances of both sides of that equation,” said Rep. Bob Nicholas, (R-Cheyenne), the chair of the House Appropriations Committee. “There’s multiple ways to address those inflationary pressures depending on what they are and what the facts are.” 

As it stands, the inflation supplement for the 2024-2025 school year would distribute an extra roughly $30.3 million to schools for staff, $30.3 million for “educational materials” and $7.4 million for energy. 

It would be a “cumulative, sustained” adjustment, meaning it would add to previous supplements and be incorporated into the state’s K-12 budget until the next recalibration window or until inflation becomes negative. 

Wednesday was not the first time lawmakers on the Joint Appropriations Committee considered next year’s external cost adjustment. They also participated in a meeting with the Joint Education Committee last month, during which the state’s finance consultants briefed them on Wyoming’s teacher labor market and other forces driving inflation for schools. 

During the hearing, lawmakers on the Joint Education Committee voted to support the full cost adjustment after they listened to analysts and education leaders who said school districts were struggling and who warned that Wyoming was losing its competitive advantage in teacher pay. 

“Hold your nose and vote for it, but give salary increases of a substantial amount,” Jeremy Smith, the business manager for Sheridan County School District No. 1, told lawmakers during the September meeting. “You’re either going to do it yourself as policymakers or you’re going to be told to do it by other people.”

The Joint Appropriations Committee heard the same sentiments and full-throated support from those who testified Wednesday. 

“School districts certainly have not been immune from a lot of the same things that we see in our personal lives as consumers,” said Jed Cicarelli, the finance director of Laramie County School District No. 1. 

Following the strong testimony, lawmakers on the Joint Appropriations Committee voted overwhelmingly to recommend the full supplement. 

Gordon and the Legislature will now weigh the external cost adjustment, finalizing any changes during the 2024 budget session. Even if Gordon's office and both chambers approve the additional $68 million for K-12 schools, the final tab for the state could still vary. 

Matthew Willmarth, a senior school finance analyst with the Legislative Service Office, told the panel that the final figure depends in part on the local revenues that school districts receive. 

Though Gordon authorized a $70 million inflation adjustment for the current school year, the state ultimately paid just over $57 million after local revenues offset some of the cost.