Wyoming Budget Writers Slash UW Funding, Stirring Sharp Debate at the Capitol

The original story by Clair McFarland for Cowboy State Daily.

Wyoming lawmakers took a big swing at the University of Wyoming’s budget this week, voting to strip nearly $61 million from the governor’s proposed funding plan for the state’s only four-year public university — a move that sparked emotional debate and accusations of political payback.

The Joint Appropriations Committee, the Legislature’s most powerful budget panel, voted Tuesday to cut $60.8 million, or about 12.6%, from Gov. Mark Gordon’s recommended budget for UW. The cuts aren’t final yet, but they set the stage for what’s likely to be one of the most contentious issues when the full Legislature convenes on Feb. 9.

If the reductions survive the legislative process, they would include:

• $40 million cut from UW’s state-funded block grant;
• $12.5 million denied for matching funds meant to attract private donations and grants;
• $6 million denied for athletics funding tied to rising NIL (name, image and likeness) costs;
• $450,000 trimmed from UW’s critical minerals initiative;
• $285,783 denied for a physician assistant position in UW’s Casper family medicine residency;
• $1.7 million cut from Wyoming Public Media, effectively defunding the statewide public radio network.

UW spokesperson Chad Baldwin said the university is watching closely but stressed the process is far from over.

“There are a lot of steps along the way before a final budget is signed into law,” Baldwin said in a text message.

No one was more vocal against the cuts than Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, who blasted the committee’s decision as unnecessary and punitive.

“We’re not out of money. We’re not in a budget crisis,” Driskill said. “This is spiteful and vindictive — to pull this kind of stuff.”

Driskill zeroed in on the loss of matching funds, arguing UW could have used private donations to offset other cuts if the state had allowed it.

“We ask for skin in the game again and again,” he said. “Then we tell them we’re just going to cut you for the fun of it.”

The cuts were driven in large part by Rep. Ken Pendergraft, R-Sheridan, who said the $40 million block grant reduction amounts to roughly a 10% trim to one piece of UW’s overall funding — not the gutting some critics claim.

He also took aim at Wyoming Public Media, arguing government shouldn’t be funding media at all.

“It’s not the role of government to have a media extension, like Pravda,” Pendergraft said, invoking the former Soviet propaganda outlet.

That comparison drew swift pushback from Sen. Mike Gierau, D-Jackson, who warned the move crossed into dangerous territory.

“That leaves the impression you’re against it because of what they’re saying,” Gierau said. “That’s a slippery slope.”

Pendergraft said the UW cuts reflect a shift in priorities, pointing to major funding shortfalls elsewhere — especially for roads and bridges. The Wyoming Department of Transportation has warned of a $400 million to $600 million gap in future funding.

“WYDOT is in survival mode,” Pendergraft said, adding that other agencies need help more urgently.

The committee specified that UW’s College of Agriculture and College of Education would be spared from the $40 million block grant cut.

Even committee members who supported the block grant cut split over athletics funding. Pendergraft successfully pushed to deny $6 million UW requested to cover soaring costs tied to NIL changes following a major NCAA court ruling.

But Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, R-Wheatland, warned the move could ripple far beyond sports fans.

“Being a Division I school is the only thing we have,” Haroldson said. “This is kind of a gut hook to the school if we’re not careful.”

Rep. Trey Sherwood, D-Laramie, fought back tears as she spoke against the cuts, saying morale at UW is already low amid leadership turnover, rising living costs and uncertainty.

“I see the stress that you are under,” she said, addressing university employees back home. “And regardless of the vote today, we’ll continue to fight for you through the process.”

Sherwood also noted the governor’s original budget was already balanced, undercutting arguments that the cuts were fiscally necessary.

The full Legislature will take up the budget next month, and any of the proposed cuts could still be changed — or reversed — before a final spending plan reaches the governor’s desk.

For now, UW, its students and employees, and Wyoming Public Media are bracing for a fight that’s only just beginning.