The Wyoming legislature’s most powerful committee voted Tuesday to reduce the governor’s recommended state budget for the University of Wyoming by 12.6%, or $60.833 million.
If both chambers of the state Legislature agree with the maneuver, that denial of funds would include a $40 million cut to the school’s state-funded block grant, the denial of $6 million UW requested to deal with spiking athletics costs in the wake of the name, image and likeness (NIL) legal shakeup – and the state-level defunding of Wyoming Public Media.
The debate is ongoing, as all 93 lawmakers get a chance starting Feb. 9 to modify what the majority of the 12-person Joint Appropriations Committee approved Tuesday, while meeting at the state Capitol in Cheyenne.
The proposed cuts or denials are:
- $40 million from the state’s block grant to UW;
- The denial of $12.5 million UW requested to obtain matching donations or grants;
- The denial of $285,783 for a physician’s assistant in UW’s Casper-based family medical residency program;
- The denial of $6 million UW requested to bolster its athletics programs, especially after a court ruling that ratcheted the costs of NIL;
- The denial of $450,000 out of UW’s $4.5 million request for its critical minerals initiative;
- A cut of $1,698,084 from Wyoming Public Media’s share of UW’s block grant.
UW spokesman Chad Baldwin in a Tuesday text message response to Cowboy State Daily’s request for comment wrote, “We are monitoring the situation very closely and acknowledge there are a lot of steps along the way before a final budget is signed into law.”
State Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, derided some of the cuts in multiple speeches – especially cuts to the matching fund, which he said UW could use, if allowed to keep the state’s matching funds, to make up the cuts in other areas.
“This is skin in the game, we ask for it again and again. Then we tell them we’re just going to go ahead and cut you for the fun of it,” said Driskill. “We’re not out of money folks. We’re not in a budget crisis… This is spiteful and vindictive, to pull this kind of stuff.”
‘Like Pravda’
Rep. Ken Pendergraft, R-Sheridan, who pushed for the cuts, said he wanted to reiterate that the $40 million cut to the block grant was “roughly 10% of one portion of support for the university.”
“This is a mischaracterization – to say cut the heck out of them, for a 10% cut,” he added.
Pendergraft, like Driskill, discussed the university’s budget repeatedly.
For Wyoming Public Media, said Pendergraft, he believes its programming isn’t the proper role of government. He pointed to the GOP-led Congress’ similar move last year, “with the Trump administration” of federally defunding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
“(We’re) taking funds away from so-called public media,” said Pendergraft. “It’s not the role of government. It’s not the concept of government, to have a media extension, like Pravda.”
Sen. Mike Gierau, D-Jackson, accused Pendergraft of opposing WPM, rather, “because of what they’re saying – not the fact that they’re saying it. And that is a slippery slope.”
He said he finds public media to be an open forum, and he cast Pendergraft’s motion as a gesture against freedom of expression.
WPM General Manager Christina Kuzmych did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.
Roads And Bridges
The UW College of Agriculture and College of Education shall not sustain any of the $40 million cut, the committee stipulated in its proposed budget language.
Pendergraft explained his move to cut $40 million from the block grant as conservation toward more fundamental uses – like repairing roads and bridges.
The Wyoming Department of Transportation has been warning for months of its projected $400 million- $600 million shortfall.
That agency is in survival mode, Pendergraft said, reiterating from earlier WYDOT testimony on why it is not pursuing creative projects and struggles to hire engineers. Pendergraft also voiced concern over the Wyoming Department of Health’s waitlist for federally backed Developmental Disability programs, for which the committee earlier Tuesday advanced a more-than $9 million increase in proposed state and federal funding.
UW for the last 10-15 years has “enjoyed what I’d describe as pretty splendid wealth,” said Pendergraft. “The place is just gorgeous.”
Driskill challenged Pendergraft, asking how much time he’s spend with UW personnel vetting their budget and needs.
House Appropriations Chair John Bear, R-Gillette, later countered that three of his committee’s members had attended UW budget hearings.
Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, R-Wheatland, said some UW teachings have veered from Wyoming’s most precious cultural tenets and traditions, including a love of rodeo.
But Pendergraft said that UW’s culture isn’t the issue for him.
“This is not something I’m doing haphazardly; it’s also not something I’m asking to do as a punitive measure,” he said. “There are other agencies out there that need some help, some direction.”
Before voting against the measure, Rep. Trey Sherwood, D-Laramie, wept.
She said morale at UW already due to stress, leadership issues, transitions, the rising cost of living in Laramie, and other stressors, she said.
“And regardless of the vote today I just want my constituents back home to know that I see that, and I feel the stress that you are under and I want to say publicly thank you for your service,” said Sherwood, “and know that this is one day – and we’ll continue to fight for you through the process.”
Sherwood emphasized that the more ample starting version of the budget the governor handed the committee before its Tuesday markup was already balanced. The governor was required to submit a balanced budget as part of the process.
NIL And Stuff
Though Haroldson had seconded Pendergraft’s successful motion on the block grant cut, the two disagreed on Pendergraft’s move – also successful – to deny the school a $6 million boost to its athletics program over the state’s next two-year budget cycle.
Pendergraft said he disagrees with the NCAA’s court loss being transferred to the taxpayer.
Haroldson said this move would hurt Wyoming – including people who don’t care about sports.
“We had something handed down to us by the NCAA,” said Haroldson. “We got stuck on this one.”
Not being a Divison I school “will have a ripple effect across this state, and you may not care, you may not go watch football, you may not go watch basketball,” he said. “But you guys, the reality is, the University of Wyoming being a D1 school, it’s the only thing we have.”
That’s especially true in his community, which floods Highway 34 on game day, he said, adding that this denial will have a lasting effect.
“This is kind of a gut hook to the school if we’re not careful,” he said.
Abortion, And The Ask
Rep. Abby Angelos, R-Gillette, advanced a stipulation to ban UW from expending public funds on elective abortions for students, or covering elective abortions through its group health insurance.
UW last month asked the committee for a standard two-year budget of $440 million in state funds and $54 million in exception, or specialized requests. Its total budget of this recent biennium was nearly $553.1 million.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
