CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - The Senate Appropriations Committee put the brakes on spending in a K-12 school construction bill after members raised concern that some proposed school building projects appeared to have skipped initial stages of the established legislative process for approval.
The panel on Thursday unanimously advanced House Bill 42 to the floor of the full House for further debate after voting to delay four projects. Two of the projects are in Big Horn County District 4, and one each in Albany 1 and Laramie 2.
Collectively, the four accounted for about $9.5 million in design costs. The Big Horn district projects also were slated to receive money for construction valued at about $25.6 million.
They are among dozens of proposed school building projects that the bill provides $20.3 million for design and $230.8 million for construction.
Members of the committee objected to the projects appearing on the design and construction list without appearing to go through the initial planning step that had been used in past school construction bills.
Committee Chairman Sen. Eli Bebout, R-Riverton, said none of the projects were being proposed because the schools lacked space to accommodate their student populations. Most of the projects in the bill are judged necessary to meet enrollment numbers.
Sen. Bill Landen, who chairs the Select Committee on School Facilities, explained that his committee was trying to get school building projects moving after bureaucratic red tape in the past caused frustration with projects being held up.
The appropriations committee endorsed the design and construction of school projects that were needed to meet student enrollment and one in Laramie County District 2.
Bill Panos, director of the School Facilities Department, said the projects remaining on the design and construction list will allow the state to finally achieve the long sought goal of having enough schools to meet the number of enrolled students statewide.
“With the ’15-’16 budget, we’re at the goal line,” Panos said.
However, members of the Senate panel also voiced concern about the expected fall in state revenue from the fund that is tapped for school buildings. The fund gets money from federal coal leases, which are dropping because of uncertainty about coal as a future energy source for the nation.
The committee voted to strip the bill of $2 million that would be used to buy land for future school buildings that have yet to be proposed.
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