The Wyoming Legislature’s Appropriations Committee has approved an additional $21 million budget increase for building and maintaining K-12 schools.
The supplemental increase follows a state budget approval that had given the School Facilities Department nearly $430 million dollars for school construction in 2015 and 2016. The agency asked for $21 million additional dollars to account for inflation, unanticipated costs and health and safety projects, according to Wyoming Public Media.
The School Facilities Department has been working to decrease its budget.
“In 2011, we requested $183 million dollars in our supplemental request,” Bill Panos, Director of the School Facilities Department told WPM. “In 2013, we requested $209 million. And in 2015, this year, we’re requesting approximately $21 million in additional funds.”
The department expects its expenditures to drop even more as new construction slows, WPM reported.
