Some Wyoming community colleges brace for bust

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Some Wyoming community colleges brace for bust

Updated 18 hrs ago
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CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Some of Wyoming's seven community colleges are looking for ways to save money in anticipation of lower state aid and local tax revenue.

"I think they are all cautiously aware that their local revenue will almost certainly decline, and there is a very good chance that state revenue will as well," Matt Petri, deputy director and chief financial officer for the Wyoming Community College Commission, said.

Gov. Matt Mead announced last month that Wyoming would face a $618 million drop in revenue in the next three years because of low prices for energy industry commodities. Mead ordered a partial hiring freeze for state agencies.

Community colleges receive about 60 percent of their revenue from the state based on enrollment. About 20 percent of their budget is made up of tuition and fees, and another 20 percent comes from local property taxes, including volatile oil and gas taxes.

[shenmue]

1. ...

[Galileo126]

2. Wyoming's over-reliance on the fossil fuel industry

Since Wyoming doesn't have a state income tax, they think they can just have companies rip up the ground, and the state taxes those companies on what they pull up/out. (Sound familiar, Alaska?) Now what, Wyo?

The state's politics are xenophobic at worst, anti-federalist at best. And yet, the cattle folks cry when they have to pay money for grazing on federal lands, and cry when they don't get the BLM land grants (the right to graze).
Wyoming government - a Tea Bagger's heaven on earth.

And it is the local kids who deserve an decent education who all suffer.

We had a meme during 2000-2002 protests at U. Wyo: "Keep 'em in Wyoming - keep 'em stupid!", because local kids were leaving the state in droves due to a lack of affordable and viable higher education. This panicked the State legislature, but at the same time, still made cuts to U. Wyo and the 7 CC's.

After getting my BS and PhD at U. Wyoming (as an out-of-state tuition payer), I high-tailed it out of there ASAP.

There are many articles regarding the "Wyoming trap" - sure, it's cheap to live there, but it'll cost you so much just to have the ability/education to leave Wyoming.

<end rant>

[Wellstone ruled]

3. As you have mentioned,

the TeaBillies and the SLC Cult run Wyoming. Amazing how facts about far Right Wing Governing is a pure disaster and the bottom line is,once your Youth bails,you will never get them back. Remember similar circumstances in the late fifties and into the sixties,in North Western Wisconsin. Local units of Government refused to allow new Industry to set up shop in what was called Impact 7. millions of dollars from the FMHA were available to improve Infrastructure and build new or renovate Vocational and Secondary Schools. The power brokers of this group were the Old Line Families who owned and controlled Main street. How ironic,most of these Business People ended up with dead Store Fronts or vacant lots that no one wants,all to save their Egos. All of this new stuff will bring in riff-raff and I will have to pay higher wages and our crime rate will go nuts.

Well,guess what,with the exception of a few,most of us said see ya and went to other states and never returned.

[tikka]

4. The folly of education policies isn't just affecting the community colleges

The U of Wyo just built a huge gym, but it is now going to spend $50 million to build a athletic training center mainly for the football team. A new Engineering building is without equipment for students. Qualified professors are leaving and classes are being taught by grad students. They need to build a parking garage/facility on campus.

[Galileo126]

5. Why doesn't that surprise me?

During the protests (see my comment above), we all complained that the State and the University only cared about 2 money-making things (a) sports, and (b) donations from the fossil fuel industry. Everything else was lower on the list, if on the list at all. And now, 13 yrs later, nothing has changed. NOTHING.

Like I said, once I got signatures, I left the state even before the ink had dried.

Oy.