Gordon Addresses Lander Residents on Upcoming Budget, $40M UW Cut

Gov. Mark Gordon faced questions from roughly 180 residents in Lander about a legislature-proposed $40 million reduction to the University of Wyoming’s state-funded grant and broader budget choices ahead of the session. At a forum that ran Feb. 3-4, the governor urged restraint in the debate and pressed the university to heed both lawmakers and the public.

Gordon told the audience that the university should “listen to the Legislature ‘on that piece,’” and added, “I think they also need to listen to the people of Wyoming, and not try to sort of be in their face.” He asked supporters and critics alike to “tune this down.” He also said the university should pursue greater self-sufficiency: “I have for some time believed that the university really ought to be able to stand more on its own two feet. So I think it’s a great time for the university to look deeply at how to raise more of the funding that’s necessary.”

The $40 million figure is part of a package of proposals from lawmakers that would alter Gov. Gordon’s biennium request for the university, which the governor sought at about $484 million. In addition to the $40 million reduction to the institution’s state grant, separate proposals would remove roughly $21 million more by targeting athletics and Wyoming Public Media. Gordon warned residents the state’s budget process can be cosmetic: pulling items such as a federally-funded health program into standalone bills can make the master budget look smaller without changing the state’s bottom line.

Local officials joined Gordon onstage. Fremont County Assessor Tara Berg cautioned the crowd that cutting property taxes beyond the 25% reduction already enacted, plus existing exemptions, would carry consequences for local services. Lander Mayor Missy White and local businessman Cade Maestas accompanied Gordon, and Linda Barton, president of the League of Women Voters, served as moderator.

Gordon also spoke about broader priorities in his budget plan, including a proposed $250 million deposit to the state savings account and more than $2.2 billion for K-12 education in the 2027–2028 biennium. He has called for aligning state education bodies to make K-12 programs more responsive to communities, parents and industry. At a separate event in Casper, Gordon told the press he worried the cuts “are cutting the guts out of our university. I worry tremendously,” underscoring the tension between executive and legislative budgeting roles.

Wyoming’s constitutional requirement for a balanced budget will guide the negotiations that follow. For Albany County residents who care about higher education funding, property tax relief and local services, the coming weeks of committee hearings and line-item discussions in the House Appropriations Committee will determine whether proposed reductions become law or are reshaped into a different mix of cuts and policy changes. Watch for university responses and committee action as lawmakers move budget bills through the process.