In this episode of Eye on the Issues, we sit down with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder and Wyoming Department of Education COO Trent Carroll to talk about Wyoming’s newly recalibrated K-12 school funding model and what the changes mean for districts across the state.

Superintendent Degenfelder and Mr. Carroll explain how recalibration works and walk through several parts of the updated model, including teacher pay, staffing, regional cost adjustments, transportation funding, and student activities. They also discuss how districts may experience those changes differently depending on local needs and circumstances.

The conversation also looks at Wyoming’s Education Savings Account program, school choice, and property taxes, along with how those issues connect to the larger school funding system.

As the new model continues to take effect, Superintendent Degenfelder and Mr. Carroll discuss what has already changed, what is still being worked through, and what school districts can expect moving forward. The discussion offers a closer look at how Wyoming funds public education and the decisions that shape where those dollars go.

Among the issues explored in the conversation are how the new formula may affect different districts, whether changes to teacher compensation will help with recruitment and retention, and how school choice fits into Wyoming’s broader education system.

In this episode of Eye on the Issues, we sit down with Wyoming State Auditor Kristi Racines to talk about what the State Auditor’s office actually does, how it fits into state government, and why that work matters to Wyoming taxpayers.

Auditor Racines breaks down the office's role in managing and reporting state financial information, along with the responsibility that comes with making sure those records are accurate and available to the public. The conversation examines how financial information moves through state government and why transparency is important for giving citizens a clearer picture of how public dollars are being used.

We also take a closer look at WyOpen.gov, Wyoming’s online checkbook, and the effort to make state spending easier for the public to see and understand. The Auditor explains how the site provides citizens with access to information that might otherwise be difficult to find, and why putting that information in one place can make a real difference for public accountability.

The discussion also touches on the bigger question of what government transparency should look like in practice. Making information public is one part of the process, but making it understandable and useful is another. For Wyoming citizens, having access to clear financial information can make it easier to follow state spending, ask better questions, and understand how government decisions affect taxpayers.

For policymakers and the public alike, this raises some important questions:
*How easy is it for Wyoming citizens to see where their tax dollars are going?
*Does greater transparency lead to better accountability?
*Is simply making information public enough, or does it also need to be easier to understand?
*And what more can be done to give Wyoming taxpayers a clearer view of how public money is being spent?

In this episode of Eye on the Issues, we sit down with Matthew Mitchell of the Mercatus Center and Fraser Institute to explore the real impact of targeted economic development incentives.

Drawing on years of research, Mitchell explains why corporate subsidies often fail to deliver the promised results—and in many cases may even reduce overall economic activity. The conversation breaks down the economic logic behind these findings, including how uneven tax structures can create greater inefficiencies, distort market behavior, and encourage “rent-seeking” rather than true value creation.

We also examine the growing competition between states to attract businesses through incentives, and whether an interstate compact could offer a path forward. Closer to home, the discussion touches on how Wyoming’s Constitution addresses corporate subsidies—and how later provisions have complicated those original limits.

For policymakers and the public alike, this raises important questions:
*Are these projects happening because of subsidies—or would they happen anyway?
*What are the tradeoffs, and what opportunities are being overlooked?