Tool Kit for Sharing Information with Legislators
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Tool Kit for Sharing information with Legislators ● Be concise and limit your letter to one or two paragraphs ● Please use your personal email account and submit off contract time Dear …. (Thank them for service, be respectful. Acknowledge challenging decisions) Thank you for your service to Wyoming public school students. The decisions you face are daunting, but please remember that the decisions you make today impact the future for Wyoming. Talking points - pick some or add your own - do NOT use all of these as it is too much: ● Cutting school funding hurts students, schools, and communities. o Impact of 10-20% cuts means schools or entire districts could be shut down. Your neighborhood school could be gone. o Total reduction of staff across the state could be between 1,000-2,000 jobs. This will impact our community, forcing Wyoming citizens, your neighbors, to leave the state to look for work. o Wyoming students deserve quality teachers. Due to previous funding cuts, Wyoming has lost its edge in recruiting and hiring and can no longer compete with surrounding states. Additional cuts of 10-20% will result in future recruiting problems and a teacher shortage. o Wyoming students are succeeding, Wyoming’s investment is paying off. ▪ Wyoming’s national testing scores are the “best in the west” ▪ [give examples from your district] o Magnitude of these cuts are such that classrooms will be impacted. Every position in the school district is directly related to the classroom. Food service, bus drivers, paras, administrators, business office staff, central office staff - are in service of kids and classrooms. It is impossible to make reductions without impacting the classroom or the students. o Less staff means larger class sizes. Crowded conditions in classrooms can lead to an increase in behavioral issues, decreases in student achievement, and an increase in drop-out rates. Unlike other state agencies, schools do not have the option to eliminate services o (as the State did with “rest areas”). Districts are required to provide the “basket of goods”, regardless of funding cuts. ▪ The “basket of goods” refers to 12 specific educational programs required by law to be provided to every Wyoming student - reading/language arts, mathematics; social studies; science; fine arts and performing arts; physical education; health and safety; humanities; career/vocational education; foreign cultures and languages; government and civics; computer science o With 10-20% cuts, schools will not be able to offer the current basket of goods. o The Hathaway Success Curriculum would have to be reduced given the magnitude of reductions. Some districts may not be able to offer the Hathaway Success Curriculum altogether. ▪ The Hathaway Success Curriculum refers to the prescriptive list of coursework required to qualify for the Hathaway scholarships at Wyoming community colleges and the University of Wyoming. For further information, see https://hathawayscholarship.org/bin/eligibility-requirements/ o Important opportunities for students in specialized courses such as career and technical education are areas that would have to be reduced if reductions are made. o Cutting school funding is counter to Wyoming’s pressing goals for economic diversification. ● The legislature is constitutionally required to provide a thorough and uniform education of a quality that is both visionary and unsurpassed, the best we can do. o Reliance on the mineral industry for K-12 funding is volatile and unpredictable. o Lack of sufficient funding for K-12 education is not a new problem for the legislature. And it cannot be blamed on COVID-19. It is the responsibility of the legislature to solve this long term problem. o The legislature’s failure to act should not impact the education our current students receive. o Ask yourself - Why should our children today receive a lesser education or have fewer educational opportunities because prices for oil, coal and natural gas have declined? o The State cannot cut its way out of the funding gap. The legislature and the taxpayers must look to increase revenues. o Effect of legislation over the past several sessions has resulted in a cumulative loss of funding in excess of $100 million. Districts are still working to incorporate those reductions. No “fat” to trim. o The Recalibration Committee is meeting to discuss the cost of education. Would it be prudent to hear the recommendations and act on them before arbitrarily reducing funding that is required to schools? o The rural nature of WY means there are geographic barriers and lack of economies of scale that make it difficult to provide low-cost education. That is no different than other public services - Wyoming spends more than other states on many state services, including health care, roads, higher education, state and local government and police and fire departments. ● We can’t ignore the impacts of COVID-19 o Our schools and teachers have done a phenomenal job of educating, feeding, and otherwise supporting students and families during the pandemic, reminding us all of the vital role schools play in our communities. o Cuts in education mean the very real possibility many staff will lose their jobs, exacerbating anxiety for staff and their families during these difficult times. o Cutting jobs during the pandemic and economic downturn will not help the Wyoming economy. o Enrollment across the state has decreased due to COVID. While districts expect enrollment to rebound when the pandemic is behind us, it may be difficult to replace the staff whose positions are eliminated. Staff leave the state and it means there are few qualified staff available to hire. o It costs more to educate students during the pandemic. (technology, equipment, cleaning supplies/services, more teacher hours). Federal funds will not adequately cover these costs. o Social distancing requires smaller class size, not larger. Tell a story of your child, district, various needs, etc. Help the reader see your input by telling a story and help them see the impact of education. Thank them again Provide your contact information Contact information for Members of the Recalibration Committee: (Co-Chair) Senator Dave Kinskey – [email protected] (307) 751-6428 Senator Eli Bebout – [email protected] (307) 856-0375 (As of 2021, no longer Senator) Senator Hank Coe – [email protected] (307) 587-4655 (As of 2021, no longer Senator) Senator Larry Hicks – [email protected] (307) 383-7192 Senator R.J. Kost – [email protected] (307) 754-7174 Senator Chris Rothfuss – [email protected] (307) 399-3556 (Co-Chair) Representative Albert Sommers – [email protected] (307) 360-7060 Representative Eric Barlow – [email protected] (307) 682-9639 Representative Cathy Connolly – [email protected] (307) 399-0482 Representative Steve Harshman – [email protected] (307) 262-8075 Representative Bob Nicholas – [email protected] (307) 634-6057 Representative Andy Schwartz – [email protected] (307) 413-6464 Contact Information for Local Teton County Legislators Senator Dan Dockstader - [email protected] (307) 885-9705 Senator Mike Gierau - [email protected] (307) 413-0109 Representative Andy Schwartz – [email protected] (307) 413-6464 Representative Mike Yin - Mike.Yin@@wyoleg.gov (307) 201-9897 Representative Jim Roscoe - [email protected] (307) 730-5389 Information shared in Committee Meetings .