Does the Freedom Caucus Hate Education?

HB 270, 271, and 199, are Freedom Caucus bills that — in combination — will gut public education in Wyoming.

Wyoming Public Schools are among the best in the nation.

93% of Wyoming students attend public schools[1] and consistently perform above national averages in math, reading, and science.[2]  We are proud of our Wyoming public schools and we insist that our legislators preserve and protect them.

Republican House Appropriations Chair John Bear of Gillette sponsored two bills that would reduce spending and put more money into state savings. Bear’s goal is to reduce the state’s spending and put the savings into accounts that could earn a higher return on investment. However, these bills would reduce funding for K-12 public schools by more than $80 million per year.

House Bills 270 and 271, combined, would drain the School Foundation Program by more than $30 million per fiscal year, according to the bills’ fiscal impact notes. Bear told House Appropriations Committee members last Monday now is the time to decrease the state’s spending policy in two different accounts — from 5% to 4.5% — and stash it away into savings, where the money could provide a greater return on investment.

Wyoming already has $1.8 billion in it’s “rainy day fund.” The  Freedom Caucus arugues that the government spends too much money and “stashing money away” provides a better “return on investment” – So supporting the education of Wyoming children is not worth the investment? These law makers benefited from a well-funded education system growing up, but now want to shortchange their own children and grandchildren.

HB 199, the Wyoming Freedom Scholarship Act, could sap School Foundation Program funding by $44.7 million in the 2026 fiscal year as funds that would go toward public education would pay for families to send their kids to private schools instead.

“What we have seen in other states with universal voucher programs is an explosion of cost,” Wyoming Education Association spokesperson Tate Mullen explains, adding that the $44 million fiscal impact is only the starting point.[3]

Additionally, the property tax relief efforts only compound this problem. Property taxes pay into the 12-mill levy that helps fund the School Foundation Program. With property tax relief programs being considered this year, the combination would severely limit funds being put into public education.

References:
[1] National Center For Educational Statistics
[2] www.nationsreportcard.gov
[3] WyoFile, January 29, 2025