Committee hears overview of charter law and funding; districts raise ADM and funding‑flow concerns

The Joint Education Committee received a high‑level review of Wyoming’s charter school statutes, funding entitlements and authorizing practices, and heard district testimony about how charter enrollment growth can affect resident districts’ average daily membership (ADM) funding.

Tanya Heitrick of the Legislative Service Office told the committee the statutes governing charter schools include Wyoming Statutes 21‑3‑301 through 21‑3‑314 and that charter schools are public schools operating either under local district authorization or the Wyoming Charter School Authorizing Board (WCSAB). Heitrick noted the authorizing board was created in 2023 and that recent legislative changes removed prior caps on the number of state‑authorized charter approvals.

Matt Wilmarth, senior school finance analyst with LSO, reviewed how the education resource block grant model funds schools and explained that charter schools will be entitled to 100% of both school‑level and a pro‑rata share of central‑office resources beginning in the next school year; LSO provided an estimated proxy that totaled roughly $17.7 million in school‑level state funding for current charter schools and about $1.4 million in proportional central‑office funding, for an…