Election results dampen conversation on school maintenance funding

CHEYENNE — It’s been 15 years since the Wyoming Legislature last revised its funding formula for school maintenance and repairs, and one state official said an adjustment is long overdue.

But after a primary election set the stage for the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, a far-right group of hardline Republicans, to take control of the lower chamber in November, at least one lawmaker questions how well a bill that appropriates $43 million in major maintenance funds will do in the next legislative session.

The Legislature’s Select Committee on School Facilities reviewed a draft bill during its Thursday meeting in Jackson that calls for changes to the major maintenance formula. Draft bill 155, “School finance-routine and major maintenance calculations,” makes two changes to the formula and comes with an approximately $43.6 million appropriation.

The last time the Legislature modified its major maintenance formula was in 2009. This formula, which is overseen by the State Construction Department, is used to calculate funding to school districts for major maintenance repairs, such as replacing a roof.

SCD Director Del McOmie asked the committee to revise this formula as one of its interim topics this year.

“We need to be funding at the amount necessary to maintain our buildings,” McOmie said.

The major maintenance formula “is equal to the authorized gross square footage (GSF) of all school district facilities multiplied by a per square foot replacement value cost factor for each building category,” according to a Legislative Service Office memo.

That replacement value is then multiplied by 2% to arrive at the total major maintenance payment.

Wyoming statute currently sets the GSF at 115%. Draft bill 155 proposes increasing the GSF to 135% and the multiplier from 2% to 2.5%. McOmie admitted that the revised formula would result in increased annual budget requests from school districts — but it will also save the state tens of millions of dollars in the long run.

The director recalled that the state would save over $3 billion by extending the life of its existing buildings, according to consultants.

After seeing the results of the primary election, however, Chairman Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne, doubted “a bill with a $40 million appropriation” will make it far in the 2025 legislative session.

A WyoFile.com analysis predicts that the Freedom Caucus secured “at least 29” of the necessary 32 seats for majority control of the House, based on unofficial election results. In a text message to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Brown said the mantra of the Freedom Caucus is to reduce spending in education, with the exception of private and charter schools.

“Carrying a bill forward with any money for public education faces an extremely hard test of the legislative process, and is likely doomed to start,” Brown wrote.

However, Wyoming School Boards Association governmental relations director Ken Decaria reminded the committee it’s their job to make legislative recommendations that they think are best for Wyoming.

“You are in the position to make a much better-informed decision about what the proper recommendation is,” said Decaria, who is also a former Wyoming state senator. “I spent 13 years in the Legislature. I know how things work once they hit the floor, but I just don’t think you can plan for all those eventualities.”

Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, said it is a matter of convincing fellow lawmakers that the formula change is cheaper than building brand new schools.

“As we’re building new schools, we’re intentionally right-sizing those schools to project a future (population size),” Rothfuss said. “If the population falls, it really makes sense for the state to be on the hook.”

Rothfuss said the proposed formula in the bill still falls short of funding maintenance projects for a majority of school districts. To capture all school districts, Rothfuss said the GSF would need to be increased to about 250% or higher, and the 2.5% multiplier needs to be doubled.

“But that could perhaps be something that we consider for the next meeting,” Rothfuss said.

The bill draft was forwarded for continued discussion at the committee’s next meeting in Cheyenne on Oct. 16.