Wyoming school construction shortfall may reach $205M

CASPER (AP) — A legislative report says Wyoming’s state school construction funding shortfall could grow to more than $200 million by 2022.

More than $2 billion worth of construction and maintenance in Wyoming has been funded over the years through coal lease bonus money. But the coal lease bonus money has been dwindling in recent years, and the Legislative Service Office estimates that it could disappear altogether in a few years.

The Casper Star-Tribune reports that the falling bonus money will leave a widening shortfall in its wake. Lawmakers say construction and maintenance is funded through the current biennium, which ends next July. In the next two-year budget cycle, the shortfall is projected to reach $97.7 million per year. In 2021 and 2022, it could grow to $102.7 million per year.