Wyoming Governor Matt Mead says the state’s biggest future budget concern is K-12 education funding. During a news conference discussing his current budget request, the governor said school funding could face a shortfall of over $600 million in the next budget cycle.
To address the issue the governor is once again pushing to create a task force that would focus on school funding issues. He said the task force needs to include parents and educators.
“When it comes to education I think it needs to be a statewide conversation and I think we have to have the educators help us in determining the best way to go about this. Because if it is just looking at a balance sheet and how we get to the right dollar amount, I don’t think we will make the best decisions in the executive branch or the legislative branch.”
Over the years, the state has lost numerous court cases over school funding and Mead admits he doesn’t want the issue to end up in court. He said solutions could include additional taxes for education, sensible cuts, or both.
