Senate Education panel creates select committee to recalibrate school finance model, removes charter-study language

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Wyoming Senate Education Committee on Feb. 14 approved House Bill 316, establishing a bipartisan select recalibration committee charged with recalibrating the state's education resource block grant model and appropriating $920,000 to the Legislative Service Office (LSO) for consultants and committee expenses.

The bill, carried to the committee from management council, requires a six-member slate from each chamber, with minority-party representation, and calls for appointments to be made by March 30, 2025. The committee will select co-chairs from each house and may request data from state agencies, school districts and the school data advisory committee to support the recalibration work.

Tanya Heitrich, Legislative Service Office operations administrator, told the committee “this bill comes to you from management council and it establishes a select recalibration committee comprised of 6 members on each side of the house, with 1 of those members being, from the minority party.” She said the appropriation covers consulting expertise and committee expenses and that the committee will meet roughly 12 days over the interim to develop recommendations.

LSO senior school plans analyst Matthew Wilmarth said the consultants…