Governor Mark Gordon appointed the Reimagining and Innovating the Delivery of Education (RIDE) advisory board last year. The idea is to collect input from the public through an online survey. The administration is especially interested in those that have gone through or are currently going through Wyoming's K-12 education system.
RIDE Chair John Masters said this isn't about fixing the curriculum or concerns about personnel but rather something about the system that isn't working.
"Each district is part of the school Foundation Program, which means they receive money or they contribute money to a pool of money at the state. And then that's divided up according to a formula," Masters offered as an example. "And some people might think that formula needs to be revised. Or they might think that the flexibility within the formula is a problem or the lack of flexibility in the formulas. Well, sure, let's hear about that."
The surveyis available to take through Feb. 24. Masters said they would like to get as many responses as possible. While the survey is available for everyone who has a thought about the education system, Masters said they are especially interested to hear from a particular group that is not as present during legislative meetings.
"The group that's not heard from in that process, or not heard from as effectively as others, are parents and students," he said.
Over the summer, the group will also hold public meetings throughout the state. Masters said they hope to submit a report with suggestions to the legislature before the 2023 session. It will then be up to the legislature to make any changes to the system. That means any change to the actual system wouldn't happen till 2024 the earliest.
