© 2024 Wyoming Public Media
800-729-5897 | 307-766-4240
Wyoming Public Media is a service of the University of Wyoming
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Transmission & Streaming Disruptions

School Facilities Funding Unknown

Aaron Schrank

A funding crisis brought on by a downturn in the coal industry has left policy makers struggling to figure out how to fund education. This year school districts took a hit of $34 million to their operating budgets.

 

That’s primarily money for teachers and staff, as well as materials and supplies. But the funding for school construction and maintenance is also running out.

 

At a recent meeting on school finance, Matt Willmarth,senior school finance analyst with the Legislative Service Office, gave an update on the status of the School Capital Construction Account. Wyoming typically spends over $200 million per biennium on capital construction and maintenance. The bulk of that funding has traditionally come from coal lease bonuses, which Willmarth told policy makers is a problem because, “There are projected zero coal lease bonuses going forward.”

 

And Willmarth put forward some critical questions for legislators to consider. “So what revenue source will be identified? How are you going to fund your major maintenance and capital construction projects through the capital construction account?” asked Willmarth.

 

That issue was taken up again Monday at the Select Committee on School Facilities. Albany County Senator Chris Rothfuss said no final decisions were made, but the committee discussed alternate revenue sources and considered prioritizing maintenance over the construction of new facilities.

 

Tennessee -- despite what the name might make you think -- was born and raised in the Northeast. She most recently called Vermont home. For the last 15 years she's been making radio -- as a youth radio educator, documentary producer, and now reporter. Her work has aired on Reveal, The Heart, LatinoUSA, Across Women's Lives from PRI, and American RadioWorks. One of her ongoing creative projects is co-producing Wage/Working (a jukebox-based oral history project about workers and income inequality). When she's not reporting, Tennessee likes to go on exploratory running adventures with her mutt Murray.
Related Content