The Wyoming Senate has revived a school finance measure with onesignificant change:The bill removes the controversial regional cost adjustment known as the hedonic model that caused the measure to fail in the house.
That provision would remove funding from communities with amenities and could have cost Teton County four million dollars.
Senator Hank Coe of Cody says that the bill is needed as part of the states requirement to set up a new funding model every five years. He says it also allows for pay raises, known as external cost adjustments, if the state gets to the point where they can be afforded.
“Pretty much has everything in it that bill had, for instance school configuration, co-located schools, we also have an updated process on how we are going to create an ECA out there if and when we do,” said Coe. “We had to save that stuff.”
Coe says a regional cost of living adjustment will be now be mostly based on the Wyoming cost of living index.