Jillian Balow Discusses ‘Structural Deficit’ In Wyoming Education

Education in Wyoming has been facing a rapidly changing landscape for months because of declining state revenues and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

State Superintendent Jillian Balow, in an interview with Glenn Woods on the ''Wakeup Wyoming' program on Thursday, said Wyoming education continues to face a "structural deficit" in terms of school funding. She defined that as the state ''spending more on education than what we have."

Balow said that while the state has so far managed to ''backfill" the funding gap, the current situation is "not sustainable" as things now stand.

Balow also discussed the plans for reopening schools across the state. She noted that while the state on July 1 issued a set of ''Smart Start'' guidelines for districts to follow, each of the state's 48 school districts is deciding exactly how to implement the guidelines att he local level.

You can hear the entire Glenn Woods interview with Superintendent Balow in the audio attached to this article.