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2003 General Session
HJ 9 proposed an amendment to that section of the Wyoming Constitution that deals with public education. Specifically, the resolution proposed deleting the constitutional requirement that the state's system of public education be "complete and uniform".
HJ 9 further specified that the control of and responsibility for all elementary and secondary schools would rest with local school boards, subject to general supervision by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Proponents of HJ 9 primarily argued in favor of local control for schools, and that Wyoming's former method of funding schools based on local property taxes was reasonable. Since the constitutional requirement that public education must be complete and uniform across the state does not permit the disparities in funding that resulted from school funding based on local taxes, proponents favored dropping that requirement.
Opponents argued that HJ 9 would allow the state to revert to school funding methods that were widely variable across the state, with huge disparities between school districts in counties that receive ample tax revenue from abundant mineral resources versus school districts in counties with little or no mineral wealth. They supported the more even distribution of tax wealth between all school districts now required by our constitution.
HJ 9 was defeated in the House Education Committee with an unrecorded vote.