“An Evidence Based Approach to Recalibrating Wyoming’s Block Grant School Funding Formula”

November 2005

The study does not attempt to cost out a specific level of achievement.

Adopt a new school-based (not district-based) recalibration model, including the recommendations below. Most significantly, the report recommends the use of the Wyoming Cost of Living index to adjust salary levels between five-year cost-study reviews and the use of a new index to adjust for regional cost adjustments.

Extensive analysis of the Wyoming market for teachers to calculate a market-based average salary for teachers.
Provides statistical information on the potential impact of the major recommendations.
Includes operations and maintenance, transportation, central office expenditures.
Does not include safety and security, school facilities or capital expenditures.
Includes recommendations for small schools, including multi-age groupings.

State commitment to full-day kindergarten for children of all backgrounds
New school prototypes cover the full range of school sizes*
Retain class sizes of 16 for grades K-5 and 21 for grades 6-12*
Provide an additional 20 percent of core teachers to teach specialist classes and provide time for professional development*
One guidance counselor per 100 at-risk students and an additional 1.26 guidance counselors for each prototypical middle school and 2.52 in each prototypical high school*
Computer ratio of one computer per every two or three students ($250 per student)
Maintain current 100 percent state reimbursement for costs of disabled students*
Increase days of summer professional development for teachers to 10
Continue current policy of state reimbursements for 100 percent of transportation costs.

*approved by the Select Committee as of November 2005

Evidence-Based or Expert Judgment Approach and Professional Judgment Approach
Using evidence from social science research and so-called best practices, the study is designed as a “model re-calibration” in response to the court’s mandate that the block grant model be reevaluated every five years to determine if modifications are necessary to ensure that the model remains “cost-based.” Initial recommendations were brought to six professional judgment panels with 200 educators from all 48 districts, which reviewed and commented on the specific recommendations. As a result, these recommendations were often revised.

None.

Wyoming Legislative Select Committee on Recalibration