As the upcoming legislative session approaches, the Wyoming Association of Community College Trustees (WACCT) and the Wyoming Community College Commission (WCCC) are coordinating strategies with the state’s eight community colleges to create sustainable funding models for the state. 

At the Northwest College Board of Trustees regular meeting Monday, the association presented its talking points for the coming legislative session. State Reps. Dan Laursen, R-Powell, Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, R-Cody, and John Winter, R-Thermopolis, came to hear the presentation and talk with members of the board. 

Since 2010, state appropriations to the state’s community colleges have eroded by $94 million. 

Education in Wyoming for K-12 and the University of Wyoming is constitutionally guaranteed to be as free as possible, but community colleges are not included in those protections. 

As revenues in the state’s extraction industries have declined, so has state support for the community colleges. 

“All of the community colleges have suffered so greatly with the cuts that have come down the pike, and then throw on a little thing called a pandemic,” said WACCT executive director Erin Taylor.  

The WCCC and WACCT have proposed nine different options to create sustainable funding for the colleges. They include various state and local tax changes, such as a statewide 1% sales and use tax.

Another option would allow colleges to charge higher tuition for students coming from outside a college’s district, a practice that’s allowed in other states.

Sustainable models

The position of WACCT and the WCCC is that the community colleges — as large employers that provide training for the Wyoming workforce — are primary economic engines for the state. Given their importance in Wyoming’s economy, a sustainable funding model is in the state’s interest, the association and commission argue. 

Two years ago, Taylor said, members of the Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee asked the WCCC to provide ideas for some funding models that would provide that sustainable support within the state’s budgetary constraints.  

The last legislative session was preoccupied with legislation that allowed Gillette College to separate from the Northern Community College District, which oversees Sheridan College. But in the 2022 session, Taylor said creating sustainable models is the priority for WACCT and the WCCC. 

There is good recognition now among legislators, Taylor said, that the community colleges do need this funding to continue their mission, and she discussed three committee bills looking to provide that. 

Two bills in the Joint Education Committee would create endowments with one-time funding. One bill would set up an endowment structure, using the interest to fund a steady stream of dollars on an annual basis for the colleges to use. 

“It would give some predictability,” Taylor said. 

A second bill, which the committee has passed, would create an endowment specifically to fund adult learners. According to the Lumina Foundation, Wyoming has 87,034 working-aged adults with just a high school diploma and 56,149 with some college education, but no credential. 

The Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee passed a bill that diverts 1% of the severance tax from the state’s savings into a fund, of which 30% would go to the colleges. 

WCCC Executive Director Sandra Caldwell called it a “nice surprise” that, if passed into law, will provide roughly $25 million each biennium to the colleges. 

“That is a substantial amount,” Caldwell said. 

NWC Trustee Tara Kuipers commented how encouraging it was to see legislators “zooming in” on the funding needs of the colleges. 

“It’s not only a pleasant thing, but also evidence of the critical nature of this conversation moving forward in a real way,” Kuipers said. 

Taylor said the support is reflective of efforts over the past few years by all the state’s colleges to communicate the issues to legislators.

Lawmakers’ questions

Rep. Laursen asked what NWC did with the federal CARES Act funding it received in 2020, which was provided to help with pandemic-related expenses. 

NWC President Lisa Watson said the college received $4.3 million, half of which was for students. The college spent about $2.4 million for items, such as technology to convert classes to online formats. She added that the support didn’t completely cover all costs associated with the pandemic. 

Trustee Carolyn Danko advocated for more tax mechanisms to support the colleges and their role in the state’s economic development. 

“We talk about our engine, but it has to have fuel,” Danko said. 

Laursen, who has always been a staunch opponent of increased taxes, said he would oppose any corporate tax bills, such as the 2019 bill that died in committee. The bill would have imposed a 7% tax on profits for some businesses in Wyoming to help fund education.

“We start beating up on our corporations, who’s to say they’ll stick around?” Laursen said. 

Rep. Winter asked if NWC received support from other counties other than Park County, and if the college had approached other county commissions for funding.

NWC collects property taxes in Park County, but Watson said the only funding the college receives from other counties is indirectly, through tuition and fees paid by NWC students from those counties. She also noted that pursuing funding from county commissioners outside Park County runs into the question of which college serves that area. Central Wyoming College, for example, considers Hot Springs County to be within their service area.

However, “everything should be considered at this time,” Watson said. 

Rep. Williams asked about how new programs are developed and if any are planned. She specifically referred to training to support companies attracted to Wyoming’s blockchain-friendly laws.

Watson replied that NWC consults with economic development organizations, such as Forward Cody and the Powell Economic Partnership, for what skillsets area industries are seeking.

The school will often test program interest by offering it for no credit, which doesn’t receive funding from the state, before making the program for credit. 

Gerald Giraud, NWC’s vice president of academic affairs, explained all the considerations that go into determining whether or not a program will be sustainable, which includes not only if NWC is capable of offering an adequate curriculum but whether there’s enough student interest. 

He pointed to its partnership with Allied Health, which has been successful at training nurses. Training for careers in blockchain would be much more difficult, Giraud said. 

As with all colleges in the state, Northwest College has had to make budget cuts in response to declines in state support and tuition revenues. Last year, the board voted to cut 11 positions to help balance the college’s budget.