School’s out, but administrators, staff, lawmakers and other stakeholders are focused on Wyoming’s education system. Wyoming Public Radio’s Jeff Victor spoke with the superintendent of public schools, Megan Degenfelder, about some of the issues. Victor started with recalibration. By law, the state is required to look at the education funding model every five years. This is one of those years.

Editor's Note: This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

Jeff Victor: As our superintendent, our chief of schools, what is your role in that [recalibration] process?

Megan Degenfelder: We help to facilitate the recalibration process in partnership with the Legislature. They, of course, hire a third party that provides that process, but really making sure that we can be a resource to them [and] provide the necessary data. That's really the most important role for the Wyoming Department of Education.

JV: The consultants and lawmakers who are crafting that plan do have some new direction from a very high-profile recent lawsuit. The court in that case directed the Legislature to invest more in teacher salaries, mental health resources [and more]. But lawmakers also still have a lot of other decisions to make. With all of that in mind, what are you hoping to see from recalibration?

Editor’s Note: The Wyoming Education Association, which represents more than 6,000 teachers across the state, brought a lawsuit three years ago arguing the state was failing to adequately fund its public schools. In February, a court ruled in their favor, ordering the state to better fund public schools. The state is appealing the decision to the Wyoming Supreme Court.

MD: Well, you’re right. We find ourselves in very interesting times, with the appeal still ongoing in that litigation, but also having recalibration take place at the same time. And that's because our state Constitution requires that we have an adequate and equitable education. I'm hoping that we can really take a look at, in the future, how we analyze the actual basket of goods that we are costing out. What changes could be made there if we want changes, in fact, to our education funding? I think that in this recalibration process, it will be good for the committee to look at things like mental health, to look at things like nutrition.

As someone that came from the private sector, I've always thought: Can we make Wyoming the state that pays our teachers the greatest salary in the country, but we also have the highest expectations in the country? So how do we look at things like incentive pay that other states have grappled with? What does continuing contract look like? Because when I talk to our outstanding teachers across the state, they don't shy away from things like incentive pay, from doing away with continuing contract, if they know that that compensation is going to be appropriate for the work that they're putting in.

Editor’s Note: Teachers without a “continuing contract” must have their employment contract renewed annually. Sen. Larry Hicks (R-Baggs) introduced legislation that would have eliminated continuing contracts for teachers during this year’s session. It died without discussion. When asked via follow-up email to explain the connection between eliminating continuing contracts and teacher recruitment or retention, Degenfelder replied, “I view ideas like changing continuing contract, to be more in line with the private sector, as a means to increase pay- which in turn attracts teachers. Teachers should be recognized as the professionals they are, and as in the private sector, increased compensation comes with increased accountability.”

JV: Let's talk about the families who opt out of public education. Let's start with the Education Savings Accounts or ESAs, better known to most people as school vouchers. These are part of a new program that provides public money for families to use on private school tuition or charter or homeschooling costs. The first payments, up to $7,000 per child, were supposed to go out earlier this month, but the Wyoming Education Association is challenging the program with another lawsuit. They claim the $50 million backing that program would be better spent on public education. What do you think of that argument?

MD: I think it's really unfortunate. My job, I view, is to provide great education options for every single child in Wyoming, because the key to a robust state and a robust nation is education. We knew that there was a strong likelihood that this would be challenged in court. But what’s the most unfortunate is the suit was filed less than two weeks before our first payment, with the ask for the judge to make a decision just two days, two business days, before our first payment. And so, you know, it's really unfortunate.

We have just under 4,000 families in the state that were counting on those dollars, and providers all across the state that made hiring decisions [and] planning decisions for the upcoming school year based on that.

JV: Do you know how many of those 4,000 families were already in private school or homeschooling or out of public education? Because I think those families are maybe in different boats at this moment.

MD: I've heard from families in both situations. I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but there have been both.

Then another piece of this, of course, is the pre-K program. Pre-K was included in the bill for low-income families. One example that's really heartbreaking is a mother who took a job with the assurance that she would be able to receive this voucher to send her child to pre-K. And she finds herself asking us at the state department whether or not she should now quit her job.

JV: I want to ask you about the flip side to all of this. The Education Association, with its lawsuit, is pushing back on what they see as the negative consequences of this program. For one, they argue that you, as the superintendent, won't be able to have the same kind of oversight that you have with the public school system, because even though these schools are getting public money, the state can't tell them what to teach or what not to teach. One example raised in the lawsuit is that a religious school could be teaching creationism instead of evolution. Should public dollars be supporting that?

MD: I think an important distinction is: With a fraction of accountability is also a fraction of dollars. So getting $7,000 a year is less than half of what a student would otherwise receive to be in public education. That often gets left out of the conversation, that there's minimal dollars and thus minimal accountability.

I also like to remind folks that this isn't just $7,000 that comes to a family in the mail. There is a marketplace in which we have approved providers that are vetted through our professionals at the state department for their appropriateness. So there is some level of accountability. Students also have to take a national norm assessment as well as part of the bill.

JV: The lawsuit also raises concerns about discrimination. The same religious school could also deny admission to transgender kids, for example. We're concerned about families being able to have school choice, but what would you say to the parents of a trans child who don't want their tax money winding up at a school that would deny that child?

MD: I did see that that's part of the lawsuit, but what I don't see is that there's any particular example where that has occurred. I think in all of this, where I'm struggling to understand where an injunction is appropriate, is the harm. There's been no harm that has been shown.

JV: The lawsuit itself suggests there are maybe schools in Wyoming that would do this — deny transgender kids — but I'm not able to verify that claim. But let's restate the question: Should a private school receiving public money through this program be able to turn away a transgender child because of their identity?

MD: Again, I've seen no example of this occurring at all. And so until I see harm, I think that this just is creating, you know, unfortunately, a political spin on this and trying to take down the program based on events that have not occurred.

JV: The lawsuit argues many of the same points about children with disabilities. Private schools don't have to accommodate children with disabilities in the same way that public schools do. They aren't required to provide special education or IEPs, individualized education plans. Should public money go to schools like that?

MD: Once again, these claims — I have not seen any instance of that. Again, this is the parents’ choice whether or not to take their child, to use funds towards these particular providers. The program is about making sure that every single child in the state of Wyoming receives a robust education that best fits their needs.

JV: We might get a ruling from the court this month. What do you hope to see?

MD: I certainly hope that a [permanent] injunction is not granted. Again, I have failed to see where harm exists for students in the public system. I hope that we can begin disbursement of monies to those families that are counting on it for this upcoming school year, and then we can see where this all comes to a head in court. I think that the most important thing is that we have kids being educated come fall of 2025.