State education officials, the Wyoming Education Association and local superintendents told the Joint Education Committee on Oct. 15 that teacher shortages and low morale are driven by substitute and paraprofessional shortages, pay that lags comparable professions, and limited administrative and behavioral supports.

Presenters described persistent gaps in staffing — particularly substitutes, paraprofessionals and special-education supports — and recommended a mix of pay adjustments, expanded pipelines and governance changes, including expanded educator voice and leadership training. They urged the Legislature to back sustained funding and targeted policies rather than piecemeal fixes.

Dickie Shander of the Wyoming Department of Education summarized state data and policy context, telling the committee that Wyoming’s four-year federal graduation rate has hovered about 81.6 percent and that the state uses an extended-year accountability measure to count students who graduate after five, six or seven years. He also described variations in rural teacher retention — roughly 82–86 percent return rates for rural districts versus about 87–88 percent for nonrural districts — and said discipline and classroom behavior top teacher survey concerns.

Tate Mullen, government relations director for the Wyoming Education Association, presented findings drawn from EdWeek’s State of Teaching 2025 and WEA’s own research. He said Wyoming’s teacher morale index is low and cited national surveys showing high quit intentions. “The average teacher works 53 hours per week,” Mullen said, citing RAND research and arguing community and legislative signals affect morale.

Kim Eamon, president of the WEA, described classroom impacts: when substitutes are unavailable, paraprofessionals are pulled from interventions, lunch and hall duty coverage is strained, and instruction and student supports are reduced. “When we don’t have enough paraprofessionals,” she said, “we went a whole year and didn’t have our paraprofessional positions filled.”

District leaders and professional groups described local efforts and limits. Jeff Jones, superintendent of Sheridan School District No. 1, described a district “fast track” substitute-training program that shortened the licensing pipeline and improved coverage from roughly 60–65 percent to about 85 percent in some circumstances. Brendan O’Connor of the Professional Teaching Standards Board explained Wyoming’s substitute licensing paths: either 60 postsecondary credits (or an associate degree) plus a background check, or district-provided alternative training (about 24 hours plus observations) for people without college credits.

Superintendents and associations cited compensation and the funding model as barriers. Chase Christiansen, superintendent in Sheridan County, noted Wyoming’s starting teacher salary is roughly $44,000 under the current model and said the salary is derived from a comparative wage calculation then reduced to 75 percent; he argued that pay at that level undermines recruitment. Boyd Brown of the Wyoming Association of School Administrators and Brian Farmer of the Wyoming School Boards Association said shortages extend beyond teachers to bus drivers, specialists and administrators, and discussed economies-of-scale effects in rural districts.

Policy ideas discussed included: increased pay and benefits for teachers and paraprofessionals; expansion of “grow your own” pipelines, apprenticeships and residency programs; continuing-contract protections and improved mentoring; leadership-development programs for principals focused on inclusive workplace culture; and continuing data collection on vacancies beyond the current sunset date in 2026. WEA asked the Legislature to preserve classroom staffing levels (avoid removing teachers from the funding model) and to expand mechanisms for educator voice such as meet-and-confer or interest-based bargaining.

Committee members asked the agencies and associations for follow-up data on comparative pay, substitute funding in the block grant and vacancy trends. Several committee members and presenters agreed to continue the conversation in follow-up briefings and to coordinate on data requests ahead of the budget and interim sessions.

Quotes (selected and attributed to speakers on record):
"The average teacher works 53 hours per week." — Tate Mullen, Wyoming Education Association
"If you had an agreement on paper and you handed that to me and I had the authority to sign off on what you just said, I would sign it right now. Absolutely. 100%." — Jeff Jones, Sheridan School District No. 1 (on relaxing substitute-entry requirements)

Ending: The committee directed staff to collect comparative pay and substitute funding data and to return with options. Several legislators suggested bills or budget amendments could be needed in the coming session to address pay and substitute shortages.