CHEYENNE — Wyoming officials say the Cowboy State stands to lose more than $24.5 million after the Trump administration withheld more than $6 billion in funds supporting various education programs earlier this week.
Kim Amen, president of the Wyoming Education Association, said she was blindsided by the decision, and now Wyoming K-12 public school districts, as well as her organization, are in a “scramble” to determine budgets before school begins across the state in just a few weeks.
Nationally and in Wyoming, the funds withheld support professional development for teachers, support for English learners, offer student support and academic enrichment grants, and support after-school and summer enrichment programs.
“This all comes back to our students, and they’re the ones that are going to suffer,” Amen said. “… Everything we do in our schools is to support our students.”
She said Wyoming’s public school districts will now face tough decisions about where to put their money. There is potential for teachers or paraprofessionals to lose their jobs, or other services may be cut for some school districts to continue after-school programs or professional development, if they choose to do so, Amen said.
This scramble may be more pronounced in rural areas of Wyoming, as many may not have access to other services for after-school care like a YMCA and typically rely more heavily on the type of federal funds withheld by the Trump administration in this move, Amen said.
The Wyoming Department of Education is encouraging school districts to not obligate any funds beyond existing carryover funds for Title II-A, Title III and 21st Century Community Learning Centers, a federal program under Title IV.
Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder commented on the decision in a written statement to the WTE.
“We are constantly in contact with our partners at the federal level, and while we do not yet know the details of this review of funds, President Trump’s education priorities are Wyoming’s priorities, and I continue to support his leadership,” she wrote.
The WDE provided the following figures that will not be allocated to the state if the funds are not distributed:
• Title II-A, professional development for teachers — $10,835,611
• Title III, support for English learners — $500,000
• Title IV-A, student support and academic enrichment grants — $6,659,535 (the state was actually given allocation figures for this grant in May, but they rescinded that while they review)
• Title IV-B (21st Century Community Learning Centers), after-school and summer enrichment programs — $6,515,398
• Total: $24,510,544
For Amen, she said she could see the burden falling on the state, and Wyoming taxpayers, to continue to fund services provided by Wyoming’s public schools.
“We were told by some people in leadership in this state that the gutting of the (U.S.) Department of Education was actually a good thing for the state of Wyoming because it would mean that all the money would come back to the states and that we would get to decide how that money was spent. And we are seeing that that is not the case,” she said.