Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), along with Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) and Representative Harriet Hageman (R-WY), has introduced the Wyoming Education Trust Modernization Act. This legislation aims to amend Wyoming’s State Act of Admission to allow more flexibility in investing the state’s permanent school land fund, which supports K-12 education.
“Wyoming’s school trust fund represents one of our state’s most valuable assets for supporting public education and the next generation of Cowboy students,” said Senator Lummis. “My legislation would allow Wyoming to modernize our investment policies while maintaining the strong protections that have served this fund for more than a century. I believe we can do better for our kids by investing that money more strategically and increasing Wyoming’s returns. That result would mean millions of dollars more every year for Wyoming classrooms, without raising taxes or touching Wyoming’s principal.”
Senator Barrasso stated, “Wyoming has done an incredible job investing in the future of our students. The Wyoming Education Trust Modernization Act will help build on this success by giving our state more flexibility when it comes to investing our permanent school land fund. Diversifying investments of this vital fund will increase resources for students and teachers across Wyoming.”
Representative Hageman commented, “Wyoming’s students deserve every opportunity we can provide, and that starts with strengthening the long-term stability of our education funding. The Wyoming Education Trust Modernization Act is a commonsense, forward-looking solution that honors our constitutional protections while unlocking the full potential of our permanent school land fund. By allowing for modern investment strategies, we can responsibly increase returns and better support K-12 education. This is about keeping our promises to future generations and ensuring that Wyoming’s children benefit from the resources entrusted to the state over a century ago.”
Governor Gordon added his support: “This long-overdue proposal is a natural extension of some of the reforms I undertook while serving as State Treasurer. I support this effort to generate additional returns for Wyoming schools while preserving the permanent trust fund structure.”
Superintendent Degenfelder also spoke in favor: “This is a game-changer for Wyoming’s public schools. By modernizing our investment policies, we are unlocking the full potential of our school trust lands. It is a common-sense solution that is anticipated to provide a sustainable increase in funding for our classrooms, without raising taxes.”
Representative Bear from House District 31 said, “Since Wyoming became a state, financial markets and investment strategies have evolved dramatically. Today, responsible and prudent management of public funds requires far more flexibility than was imaginable in 1890. Congress has both the authority and the duty to ensure that Wyoming’s state government can effectively safeguard taxpayer assets and uphold citizens’ freedoms—now and for generations to come.”
