Sheridan School District 2 works to provide quality education on fewer dollars

Sheridan County School District 2 is the sixth largest school district in Wyoming, but it’s the second lowest funded district in the state per ADM.

Scott Stults, who’s an assistant superintendent with the district, said ADMs – the average daily attendance in the schools – is the basis for funding of Wyoming’s schools.

In this week’s legislative forum, he talked about how School District 2 provides a quality education for students in spite of lower funding than other districts.

Stults said the district’s budget is extremely tight. But, he said, the district knows these are tough financial times, and the district will do what’s needed.

He said one of the measures the district has taken is to put the money where the students are. This means, he said, that the district’s administrative costs are among the lowest in the state. He said the district has told all of the departments in all of the schools, which are Sheridan and Story, that there is a 20 percent cut in costs of operations across the board.

He said the district’s goal is to keep funding cuts away from students and programs.

He said the second measure the district has taken is to almost entirely eliminate overtime.

He said the district is also asking the schools, departments and other stakeholders for additional input on ways the district can cut the budget and still make the system work for the students and programs. He said the district’s goal is to continue to provide a quality education for students with less money.