Wyoming legislators in recent years have made a concerted effort to help school districts better recruit and retain teachers by boosting the amount the state spends on K-12 education.

A decade ago, the state ranked 42nd in the nation in teacher salaries. By 2008, Wyoming climbed to No. 15, with an average salary of $55,696. The starting salary for teachers in most school districts, meanwhile, now tops $40,000.

No one wants to see Wyoming lose the competitive advantage it gained in attracting teachers. But after a decade of rising mineral prices and production, the national recession has resulted in a major drop in tax revenue for school operations -- including salaries -- and construction. There's no new money to pump into the educational system, which now has a budget that tops $1.2 billion a year.

In fact, state officials recently forecast a $37 million deficit in Wyoming's school foundation program after the 2011-12 biennium.

Local school districts are given block grants by the state and make the final decisions on raises for teachers and other staff, but are largely dependent upon available state revenues. Those that have sufficient resources, of course, can offer raises. But given the current economic conditions, many school district employees in Wyoming are likely to see their salaries frozen in the next year.

While that's unfortunate, it's also the reality for many private businesses throughout the state, including some that have had to lay off employees. No one is predicting school districts will have to significantly cut staff, but they will have to budget tighter and perhaps cut some programs if they want to continue offering raises.

The Legislature has some difficult choices to make next year, given the economic uncertainty and the possibility Wyoming's recovery may take longer than initially expected. Without legislative action by next June 30, $354 million in unobligated school foundation program money will go directly into the common school permanent land fund. That money could be used for a cost-of-living component for schools and school capital construction, but once it's in the permanent fund, it can't be removed.

The Joint Appropriations Committee voted in Cheyenne on Tuesday to make no cost-of-living adjustment for schools. But it also took action that will further drain school district coffers by approving a 1.5 percent increase in the employers' contribution to the state retirement fund. That money will have to come out of districts' block grants.

It makes sense to us during lean times to use the money that would otherwise automatically go into savings for operations and construction, so we don't lose ground. As Rep. Debbie Hammons, D-Worland, said, citing Wyoming Supreme Court decisions on public school funding, savings is a lower priority than schools.

The Legislature's Select Committee on School Finance recently recommended augmenting school construction money with the unobligated school foundation dollars. Still, the panel trimmed school capital construction requests from $162 million to $82 million for 2011-12.

The unobligated funds could potentially also be used to help school districts pay for the increase in their contributions to their employees' state retirement funds. Since the deadline for either using the extra school foundation program money or saving it isn't until June 30, there should also be ample time for lawmakers to re-examine a cost-of-living adjustment and see if it's the right action to take.