Abstract

Public education has undergone numerous reform movements and initiatives since the publication of A Nation at Risk (1983) including in the area of school finance. Finance experts predict in the next 10 years per pupil expenditures in the United States will increase by 25%. At the same time educational leaders are working to increase students’ levels of proficiencies from 30% to 90% to meet state standards (Odden & Archibald, 2000).

Beginning in 1971, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled on numerous court cases dealing with the issue of how to appropriately fund schools. Millions of dollars have been spent trying to establish a constitutional funding model. After several unsuccessful attempts, the Legislature hired Lawrence O. Picus and Associates to recalibrate the Wyoming cost-based funding model in March 2005. The recommendations of an evidence-based study were implemented into law to establish the funding model for the 2006-07 school year and the following four years (Odden, et al. 2005). Specifically, the Wyoming Legislature is seeking answers to two questions: (1) How are actual resource patterns in Wyoming aligned with or different from the resource use strategies embedded in the Wyoming Funding Model? (2) What instructional improvement strategies are currently in use at the school level in Wyoming?

This study specifically looked at school-level spending related to instructional improvement strategies and resource use practices. Case studies were developed for each school and school district studied. The key findings in the eleven schools studied revealed that all schools have instructional improvement strategies. The similarities in the instructional improvement strategies included strong leadership qualities, data-driven decisions, aligned resource allocations for implemented instructional strategies, effective monitoring of student growth and the use of researched-based strategies for school improvement.

The knowledge level of school administrators on the Wyoming Funding Model at the time of this study limited the results. Further studies into curriculum requirements, school level budgeting and expenditure reporting will better identify and align school expenditures to instructional strategies, resource use practices and their relationship to student performance levels.