Dear editor:
Have you ever played Jenga? Most folks have. It is a game of physical dexterity and mental strategy. Players take turns taking wooden blocks out of the tower of wooden pieces. There are 54 pieces. The goal is to be the last player to successfully remove a block without causing the tower to fall.
Now, consider this in relation to what the Wyoming State Legislature is doing to public education. Each bad bill that they passed in the 2025 legislative session is a block that has been taken out of the tower. This leaves the tower, or our public school system, unstable.
We are witnessing the Wyoming Legislature systematically dismantling our public education system.
How does Wyoming fund public schools? Property taxes. Sixty-nine percent of property taxes go to fund our public schools, and the bulk of these taxes are paid by the mineral industry. In considering our Jenga tower of public education, let's imagine that half of the pieces bear the label ”property tax.”
From there, we have to take one quarter of those pieces out of the tower. The Freedom Caucus has now strategically taken 7 pieces from our tower. The rest of the property tax pieces rest precariously, as we know that the legislature would prefer to do away with property taxes completely thereby further weakening our public schools.
Next, we have to look at the Steamboat Legacy Act, or HB199. This is the act that would give $7,000 per child to families that would prefer to send their children to private school, including religious schools, unaccountable online schools, or homeschool.
There are two big problems here. The first is that the Wyoming government has an obligation to appropriately fund public education. The second is that the Wyoming State Constitution says, “Nor shall any portion of any public-school fund ever be used to support or assist any private school, on any school, academy, seminary, or sectarian organization or religious denomination whatsoever.” (Article 7, Section 8.)
Giving money that is allotted to public schools away to people who will spend it on religious schools is unconstitutional. In our Jenga tower of public schools, the Freedom Caucus has taken out 5 blocks for the Steamboat Legacy Act.
From the inside of our public school system, we have to look at the banning of books from school libraries. By taking away the autonomy of teachers and librarians to best serve students, our legislators are undermining professionals who are specially trained to care for our children.
By undercutting our educators and librarians in this way, the Freedom Caucus deliberately depletes the resources to support children. Take two more blocks from the tower.
Inside our schools, we also have to look at the repeal of gun-free zones. While Wyoming has more guns than people, some folks don’t want their children being around unfamiliar adults with firearms. This is reasonable.
Some folks are choosing not to send their children to public school because of this. Fewer children in our schools means fewer federal dollars for budgets, but guns are more important to the Freedom Caucus than our children. Take one more block away.
Take a block away for not funding mental health.
Take a block away for politicizing bathrooms.
Then take one more block away for trying to terminate funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Public schools are where children from every socio-economic background come together under the umbrella of equity and are greeted with inclusion.
Perhaps defunding DEI was just a guise under which the Freedom Caucus could easily swindle money from these public institutions.
The Freedom Caucus actively chose to create issues rather than solve already existing ones, like: underpaid teachers, lack of Education Support Personnel, decrepit buildings, and the fact that most young people leave Wyoming.
Take ten more blocks away for not dealing with problems that existed BEFORE the 2025 legislative session.
When we account for every metaphorical Jenga block we have removed from our tower, we have removed 28 of our 54 blocks. More than half of the funding and support that goes into our public schools has been removed.
It has been systematic and deliberate. It leaves our teachers and students in the swaying tower waiting for the crash of the blocks.
Communities depend on public schools. Public schools are pillars of communities, and watching the Wyoming State Legislature systematically dismantle our public education system with the precision of a competitive Jenga game is heartbreaking.
Our communities, our teachers, and especially our children, the future, deserve so much better.
Sincerely,
Betsy Erickson, Casper
