Pay attention now! Activities under fire in Wyoming schools

As I enter my 30th year in education, I can honestly say this is one of the most concerning moments I have seen for student activities and athletics in Wyoming.

My youngest son has only two years left competing at Rocky Mountain. He will still get many of the opportunities that generations before him had. What concerns me most is what comes next — for future students, for my future grandchildren and for my great-nephews and -nieces growing up in Wyoming schools.

Over the last three decades, I have seen firsthand what activities and athletics do for kids. I have watched shy kids find confidence. I have watched struggling students find purpose. I have watched lifelong friendships and life lessons develop through practices, bus rides, locker rooms, classrooms, concerts, basketball and volleyball games, wrestling tournaments and track meets.

Some of my best memories from high school came from competing alongside my friends. Many of those friendships still exist today. That matters. Those experiences matter.

I have also been fortunate to build relationships with incredible coaches, educators, officials and communities all across Wyoming. Rivalries may exist on game day, but there is deep respect and shared purpose among the people working with kids throughout this state. We all understand these programs are about far more than wins and losses.

Wyoming families need to pay attention to what is happening right now with school activities and athletics across our state. Let’s stop pretending this is a small issue. What is happening with Wyoming school funding is going to gut opportunities for kids across this state if people stay silent. This is the kind of issue that affects every family in Wyoming eventually — whether your child is in kindergarten today or graduating next year.

The recent changes to Wyoming’s school funding model are projected to create major cuts to activities and athletics statewide. Schools are already discussing possible reductions including fewer games, fewer tournaments, fewer teams, participation fees, increased gate costs, elimination of programs and reduced opportunities for students at every level.

An 8.4% reduction in activity funding may just look like numbers on paper to legislators, but in real life it means fewer teams, fewer opportunities, fewer trips, fewer tournaments, fewer coaches, fewer experiences and eventually fewer kids involved in school.  

This will affect EVERY community in Wyoming. Not just large schools. Not just small schools. Everyone.

The ideas already being discussed should alarm every parent:

• Eliminating regional tournaments  

• Cutting state qualifiers  

• Reducing seasons and contests  

• Eliminating programs entirely

• Cutting JV, freshman and developmental teams  

• Increasing participation fees and gate costs  

• Reducing speech, debate, music, FFA, leadership and national opportunities  

 Once programs disappear, they rarely come back.  

People love to talk about supporting kids, mental health, school pride, accountability, leadership and community involvement. Activities and athletics ARE those things for thousands of Wyoming students. For many kids, these programs are the reason they stay connected to school at all.

Rural Wyoming especially should be paying attention. In small towns, school activities are the center of the community. Friday nights, speech meets, concerts, wrestling tournaments, basketball and volleyball games, track meets, FFA events — that is Wyoming culture. Cutting these opportunities weakens schools and communities at the same time.  

These are real discussions already happening because districts are being forced into impossible situations. Most schools are only surviving next year by using temporary carryover funds. After that, what then?

Parents and community members need to wake up and get involved now instead of acting surprised later when opportunities disappear for their kids and grandkids.  

If you care about the future of Wyoming students, contact your local legislators. Ask questions. Speak up. Pay attention to what is happening. And most importantly — vote in the primaries and general election. These decisions have real consequences for kids, schools and communities across our state.