The Wyoming oil and natural gas industry is the largest contributor to education funding in Wyoming. In 2020, taxes paid by the industry accounted for funding to support nearly 33,000 K-12 students. That is approximately 36% of all students in Wyoming’s public education system – a system that ranks highest in funding per student in the region and top 10 nationally. Those same taxes were more than enough to cover the salaries of each one of Wyoming’s 7,283 hard-working, dedicated teachers.

The industry also contributes significant tax revenues to the University of Wyoming and Wyoming’s Community Colleges.

Despite the critical role oil and natural gas play in funding education in Wyoming, some are advocating misguided and detrimental policies at the federal level that will hamper sustainable oil and natural gas production in Wyoming and further harm our public education system.