House committee advances bill to boost CTE equipment funding for small schools
January 17, 2025 | Education Committee, House of Representative, Committees, Legislative, Wyoming
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The Wyoming House Education Committee on Jan. 17 passed House Bill 18, a committee bill intended to increase funding for equipment and supplies in career and technical education programs in smaller school districts.
Vice Chair Jared Lawley, presenting the measure, said the bill ‘‘makes some modifications in the model about how we do CTEs’’ and is targeted at smaller districts that may have only one or two CTE teachers. The bill leaves the existing per-FTE calculation in place but adds a higher floor so small programs can use whichever figure is greater.
The bill changes language in statute from older ‘‘vocational education’’ terminology to ‘‘career and technical education’’ and adjusts references to Attachment A in the session laws. Under the formula described in committee, the existing model provides about $9,428.77 per CTE FTE; the bill adds language that allows districts to instead use a larger amount — effectively $18,857.57 for equipment and supplies in cases where the FTE-based calculation yields less. Department of Education testimony explained that after the external cost adjustment (ECA) the amounts cited would be about $14,184.68 or, where doubled for small districts, about $28,369.
Wanda Maloney, speaking for State Superintendent Megan Degenfelder and the Wyoming Department of Education, said the department ‘‘is in support of House Bill 18’’ and described how the state model generates an additional CTE teacher and a separate supplies-and-equipment component. Maloney said the fiscal note estimates the change would affect about 24 schools in 21 districts.
Several education and business groups gave public comment in support. Boyd Brown, executive director of the Wyoming Association of School Administrators, said the bill would help small programs purchase costly items such as welding equipment. Jesse DeFoe of the Wyoming Association for Career and Technical Education said the measure helps small districts ‘‘have the fighting chance to have the modern equipment that they need to adequately train our workforce.’’ Other supporters included the Wyoming Association of Community College Trustees and the Wyoming Business Alliance.
The bill contains a one-time appropriation of $350,000 to the public school foundation to fund the first year of the adjustment; the measure’s enacting language states the legislature intends this change to become permanent in subsequent budgets.
Moved by Vice Chair Lawley and seconded by Representative Guggenmoss, the committee called the question and passed House Bill 18 on a roll call vote: Representatives Bratton, Erickson, Guggenmoss, Kelly, Lawley, Straka, Williams and Chairman Andrew voted aye; Representative Singh was recorded as excused. The committee announced the bill ‘‘passed to the committee.’’
Committee members asked no substantive follow-up questions after agency and public comment.
The committee action advances the bill to the next step in the legislative process; any further amendments or fiscal adjustments would appear in subsequent committee or floor consideration.
Vice Chair Jared Lawley, presenting the measure, said the bill ‘‘makes some modifications in the model about how we do CTEs’’ and is targeted at smaller districts that may have only one or two CTE teachers. The bill leaves the existing per-FTE calculation in place but adds a higher floor so small programs can use whichever figure is greater.
The bill changes language in statute from older ‘‘vocational education’’ terminology to ‘‘career and technical education’’ and adjusts references to Attachment A in the session laws. Under the formula described in committee, the existing model provides about $9,428.77 per CTE FTE; the bill adds language that allows districts to instead use a larger amount — effectively $18,857.57 for equipment and supplies in cases where the FTE-based calculation yields less. Department of Education testimony explained that after the external cost adjustment (ECA) the amounts cited would be about $14,184.68 or, where doubled for small districts, about $28,369.
Wanda Maloney, speaking for State Superintendent Megan Degenfelder and the Wyoming Department of Education, said the department ‘‘is in support of House Bill 18’’ and described how the state model generates an additional CTE teacher and a separate supplies-and-equipment component. Maloney said the fiscal note estimates the change would affect about 24 schools in 21 districts.
Several education and business groups gave public comment in support. Boyd Brown, executive director of the Wyoming Association of School Administrators, said the bill would help small programs purchase costly items such as welding equipment. Jesse DeFoe of the Wyoming Association for Career and Technical Education said the measure helps small districts ‘‘have the fighting chance to have the modern equipment that they need to adequately train our workforce.’’ Other supporters included the Wyoming Association of Community College Trustees and the Wyoming Business Alliance.
The bill contains a one-time appropriation of $350,000 to the public school foundation to fund the first year of the adjustment; the measure’s enacting language states the legislature intends this change to become permanent in subsequent budgets.
Moved by Vice Chair Lawley and seconded by Representative Guggenmoss, the committee called the question and passed House Bill 18 on a roll call vote: Representatives Bratton, Erickson, Guggenmoss, Kelly, Lawley, Straka, Williams and Chairman Andrew voted aye; Representative Singh was recorded as excused. The committee announced the bill ‘‘passed to the committee.’’
Committee members asked no substantive follow-up questions after agency and public comment.
The committee action advances the bill to the next step in the legislative process; any further amendments or fiscal adjustments would appear in subsequent committee or floor consideration.
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