Senator Kinskey Discusses School Deficit Issues

Wyoming legislators are facing a problem with this year’s session, as there is expected to be a budget shortfall, prompting major cuts to the budget, according to State Senator Dave Kinskey (R-Sheridan, Johnson Counties).

In an interview with Sheridan Media, Kinskey said better than two-thirds of Wyoming’s tax revenue and subsequently its economy, depends upon energy, meaning coal, oil, and natural gas, all of which are declining rapidly.

Wyoming’s revenues are down so sharply Governor Mark Gordon has cut state spending again in his budget by a half a billion dollars.

Kinskey said all but one area of the state’s budget has been cut.

Kinskey said there have been previous attempts to bring education to the table, to try to slow the spending growth, but the state has not received cooperation from the education community.

Kinskey said if the legislature does nothing and state savings fall too low, there is a automatic trigger in the law that would cut education spending in the state, which estimates show would be a 30% cut to every district, and he said that would be devastating to education in the state.

Senator Kinskey shared some ideas for how the state can curb education funding while still providing a good education to students, and we will have that in an upcoming story.