Budget isn’t a favorite word or activity anywhere, but it is a necessary undertaking for almost everyone.

It is no different for Park County School District 1. When the district’s board of trustees met Jan. 26, a large part of Superintendent Jay Curtis’ report dealt with the upcoming budget and what the decisions made at the state level could mean to the schools.

“It is supremely obvious there will be some level of cuts,” Curtis told the board of trustees. Until April 2, though, the amount of the cuts is just speculation.

The funding formula for Wyoming schools is complex to say the least. There are property taxes collected, but if that does not fill the coffers to the state block grant level, the state makes up the difference. If the property taxes are more than the block grant level, the school district sends the difference to the state to help round out the block grant funding for other districts. It is far more complicated than that, with federal programs included in the mix. Some funds are part of a general fund, used to operate the schools, while other funds are restricted and can only pay for designated items or expenses. For example, transportation funding cannot legally be used for any other purpose. 

Curtis’ best estimate is there will be at least $1 million in reductions at the local level. His hopes are retirements and other attrition will absorb most of the loss. “People retire and leave for other reasons,” he said.

“But we are examining the district top to bottom,” Curtis said in an interview. “We’re looking at every department, at everything from copy paper to positions. Our plan is to have $1 million in cuts ready,” he said. There will be other recommendations ready, too, because the state Legislature has indicated the cuts could be up to nearly $2 million. 

Those cuts will be on a prioritized list, developed by the administration and the superintendent.  It will focus on cuts that do not impact classroom instruction. The plans focus on retaining personnel, even if they are in different jobs in the district. 

Board Trustee Greg Borcher requested the superintendent bring his budget cut recommendations to the board and allow trustees to make the decisions, preserving the relationship between Curtis and the rest of the district employees. 

Trustee Trace Paul also suggested looking at ways to increase the revenue flowing into the district. He mentioned regaining students who opted to homeschool during the pandemic.

“We could approach the families, find out what we can do to make the students comfortable with being back in the district,” Paul said.

Curtis replied that discussions were beginning about starting a virtual school at PCSD 1. He noted that Sheridan, Glenrock and Meeteetse all started their own virtual schools, and there was funding available to accomplish the task. The Powell district could then recapture students and funding that was being siphoned off to for-profit virtual schools. But the discussion and planning are still in their infancy while the budget reductions are looming a little less than 60 days away.

“Anxiety is already out there among the staff,” Curtis said. He was planning to launch a video for employees to describe the plan, how to carefully and responsibly reduce the budget without resorting to a reduction in staff.

“We can use our reserves if we have to to make this a soft landing over several years, but we don’t want to drain them,” Curtis added. “But a reduction in force causes fear and stress, and that is not good for our kids.”