In response to growing concerns about teacher shortages and stagnant salaries, Wyoming’s Joint Education Committee has recommended an 8.5% funding increase for teacher and school staff pay for the 2025-26 school year, Oil City News reports.
This proposal is part of a broader effort to address the challenges Wyoming school districts face in attracting and retaining quality educators.
During a recent meeting, Rep. Landon Brown (R-Cheyenne) highlighted the issue by sharing his brother’s experience. A recent graduate of the University of Wyoming’s College of Education, Brown’s brother chose to work in Arizona, where the salary offer was $22,000 higher than any offer he received in Wyoming. This story, combined with data showing Wyoming’s declining ability to compete with neighboring states on teacher pay, has fueled calls for increased funding.
The committee voted 11-1 in favor of the “external cost adjustment,” which aims to provide approximately $66.4 million in additional funding for salaries, school materials, and utilities. This move is designed to align with Wyoming’s evidence-based funding model, which was implemented after the state’s K-12 school finance system was declared unconstitutional in 1995.
The pay increase still faces several hurdles, including review by the Appropriations Committee, which will present its own recommendations to Governor Mark Gordon by November 1. The proposal comes as Wyoming’s teacher pay, once notably higher than in surrounding states, has stagnated. While Wyoming still ranks relatively high for teacher salaries nationally, its edge has eroded in recent years, prompting concerns about the state’s ability to retain educators.
During the committee discussion, economic researcher Christiana Stoddard noted that Wyoming now ranks 26th in the US for average teacher salary and has fallen behind some neighboring states like Utah. She also pointed out that the number of teaching graduates from the University of Wyoming has sharply declined, further exacerbating the staffing crisis.
