The well reasoned, constitutionally sound opinion will be nationally recognized. The Court agreed with WEA on almost every issue we argued. The Supreme Court clearly understands the crisis spurred by the national teacher shortage. While the Court agreed with the state that the MAP model could be capable of supporting a constitutional school finance system, the justices stressed the necessity of keeping funding in pace with inflation and competitive with other states. The legislature does not have the luxury of waiting until the crisis fully materializes before taking the action necessary to remain viably competitive regionally and nationally.
Some Legislators claim they have kept funding in pace with inflation.
In addition, the Court stressed the fundamental importance of quality teachers. Because teacher quality is critical to providing a constitutional education and all parties recognize the looming national problem of a teacher shortage, the legislature is also directed to monitor the supply of qualified teachers and take appropriate action should national conditions continue to worsen to the detriment of Wyoming schools. It is unacceptable for essential teacher positions to remain unfilled or to be consistently filled by unqualified applicants. We reverse the trial court s decision to the contrary as clearly erroneous and hold that administrative and classified salaries should be adjusted in a fashion similar to teacher salaries to account for differences in experience, responsibility and seniority. These salaries also must be increased to meet inflation.