The Legislature may be between a rock and a hard place when it comes to reducing the money it spends on education, at least according to Park County School District 1 Superintendent Jay Curtis.

Speaking Tuesday evening at the regular meeting of the district’s board of trustees, Curtis pointed out that, if legislators make the $100 million slash to the K-12 education appropriations they’ve been eyeing, it could violate the cost-based analysis the Wyoming Supreme Court mandated in the so-called Campbell court cases.

Multiple school districts sued the state over funding as a group in the 1990s and 2000s, with Campbell County being the first-named litigant. In a series of four decisions, the Supreme Court determined the state must provide an adequate public education, and provide the districts funds based on the cost of that education. The cases also determined that a lack of money does not excuse the state from funding K-12 education.

If the cuts are made anyway, Curtis said, many districts have already warned the state they will go back to court over the issue.

The House Education Committee scheduled hearings on the budget conundrum for Thursday with testimony either live or virtually.

“There has never been a more important time to testify and tell the story of our schools,” Curtis said, urging the trustees to sign up to address the lawmakers. “It is worth our time to partner with our legislators to reach a compromise,” he added.

If the cuts are enacted, Curtis expects to see a hit of about $1.2 million on an annual budget of roughly $28 million.

Trustee Kim Dillivan also wondered how the district could be impacted if there was a drop in enrollment, no matter how small.

“Because our [fixed] costs don’t go down, they go up, even with fewer students,” Dillivan said.

The district is preparing itself for a state funding cut by finding savings outside the classrooms.

First, there is attrition — when a staff member leaves voluntarily through retirement or resignation. There have already been seven resignations or retirements. Teaching positions being vacated by educators retiring after many years of experience will have their slots filled with newer educators with fewer years under their belt, and commensurately lower salaries. 

Two other positions are being restructured or consolidated. These changes will result in $80,000 in savings. Attrition throughout the district will save up to $250,000.

Other changes are being sought out and “we are finding significant savings,” Curtis said.

Switching from laptops to Chromebooks, for instance, saves another $250,000 annually. 

All those changes add up.

The other side of the equation is that the schools are in line for federal CARES II Act funds — a part of the second major stimulus package that Congress passed in December. That money has already been issued to the state and is awaiting allocation to the districts.

“We will look at subtle reductions over time using CARES II [funds] and attrition. This will soften [the reductions] over several years; an abrupt change will kill the culture of your schools and that hurts the students,” Curtis said. “I’m optimistic. I feel good about where we are on the budget and I think we’re in good shape. But the picture will clear up in April.”

Trustee president Trace Paul seemed relieved to hear that.

“That is good news,” he said, “because it would be heartbreaking in the face of what the faculty and staff have done to meet the challenges of COVID and to keep the doors open, to have to make drastic reductions.”