House advances K–12 recalibration bill after rejecting 15% flexibility amendment and adopting RCA changes

The Wyoming House spent much of its March 3 floor session debating Senate File 81, a recalibration of K–12 public school funding, ultimately rejecting a proposal to let local districts reassign 15% of categorical grant funds and adopting amendments that change the bill's regional cost adjustments and salary‑growth limits before ordering the bill to third reading.

Representative Williams moved second‑reading amendment number 1 to Senate File 81 to give local districts limited latitude to move 15% of categorical grant funds "to where they could save some of these positions, fund some of these things that are outside the silo," she said, arguing smaller districts need flexibility to avoid cutting paraprofessionals and extracurricular programs. "15% is what this amendment would do," Williams told colleagues.

Opponents said the amendment would undercut the bill's classroom‑first emphasis. Representative Bair said the recalibration had been studied and that the bill's evidence‑based model should remain intact: the amendment "takes that away and makes it 85% instead of a 100%" for classroom spending, he said. Representative Heiner and others warned the amendment would reduce resources targeted for instruction and urged a "no" vote. After extended debate, the amendment failed on the floor and was not adopted.

Representative Heiner then offered second‑reading amendment number 2, which proposed two main changes: standardizing regional cost adjustments across districts and increasing an annual salary increase cap in the bill from 5% to a 10% limit per year for three years. Heiner framed the changes as attempts to make the bill defensible in ongoing litigation over the recalibration process: "Members, we all know that we're in the middle of a lawsuit... This makes it level playing field for all of our school districts," he said. Heiner also cited the updated hedonic wage index and said Teton County's adjustment was 33% higher under the evidence‑based model.

The amendment was divided into two parts after a rules challenge and a debate over divisibility. Division 1 (lines 11–14), which increases flexibility on how a district uses its average salary calculation (moving a metric from 105% to 110% in the bill text), was adopted. Division 2 — the piece affecting the regional cost adjustment methodology and the higher yearly salary increase allowance — was debated heavily and passed on a recorded vote, 34–24. During floor exchanges, Representative Larson asked whether the proposal for "10% each year over the next 3 years" amounts to a cumulative 30% increase; he received an affirmative nod from the amendment's sponsor on the floor.

Representative Harshman later offered second‑reading amendment number 3 to clarify how part‑time school employees count toward insurance thresholds and to round half‑time counts up; he argued the change would protect 20–30 hour employees who depend on insurance. The amendment did not pass.

After resolving those floor amendments, the House ordered Senate File 81 to be read a third time and advanced the bill in the legislative process.

Why this matters: The recalibration bill restructures how state K–12 funds are distributed and includes a regional cost adjustment that significantly affects districts with high local costs, such as Teton County. The floor amendments show the chamber grappling with tradeoffs between protecting classroom allocations and giving local districts flexibility to address staffing and local needs. The bill’s changes and the votes on amendments could influence litigation strategy and how funding is distributed if the bill becomes law.

What’s next: The House ordered Senate File 81 for third reading; further amendments or a final passage vote may occur at the next session on third reading.