Superintendent warns that Senate File 81 could cut funding and reduce local control for Wyoming districts

Superintendent Brad LaCroix warned trustees at the March 11 meeting that Senate File 81 is likely to reshape education funding in Wyoming and may have significant budgetary and governance impacts for local districts.

LaCroix told the board the district faces a second hurdle after personnel actions: the effect of pending state law changes. He said districts are likely to “lose hundreds of thousands of dollars” and to see reductions in local control under Senate File 81. He framed the board’s personnel decisions that evening as only the first step in confronting those statewide changes.

Trustee Dana Mann-Tavegia expressed strong frustration with recent legislative actions and the governor, saying legislators “did everything they could to take away from public schools and local control” and that the move showed disregard for young families; she also expressed displeasure that the governor allowed a bill to become law without his signature. Trustee Jason Jenkins reported separately on a N.E.W. BOCES discussion about expanding services into Torrington, which would involve partnership conversations with Saint Joseph’s Children’s Home.

No formal action on Senate File 81 was taken by the board; LaCroix’s remarks were presented as context for the district’s budget and staffing decisions and as a warning about fiscal pressures the district expects in the coming legislative cycle.