House approves full funding for Campbell County high school project; amendment adopted

The Wyoming House of Representatives amended and then passed House Bill 259, a supplemental appropriation for K–12 school facilities, after adopting a third-reading amendment to restore full funding for a Campbell County high school and related site work.

Representative Larson Lloyd moved the third-reading amendment to replace a prior partial funding decision and provide full project funding for the high school, the transportation facility and associated demolition. After floor debate, the amendment was adopted and the House gave the bill final passage by roll call, 59 aye, 1 no and 2 excused.

Why it matters: The amendment moves the Campbell County high school project from partial funding to full funding in the current construction cycle. Supporters said full funding avoids repeated mobilization and bidding costs and honors the statutory process for school construction; opponents warned that the state must balance capital requests against broader fiscal priorities including property-tax relief.

Representative Larson Lloyd urged colleagues to treat statutory school construction requests as a priority, noting the efficiency and legal implications of fully funding a project: "When we fund capital construction in schools ... those generally involve some legal consequences if you don't pay them." He described phasing as possible in limited cases but warned that repeated phasing increases total cost because of remobilization and rebidding.

Representative Pendergraft, speaking against the amendment, urged caution and asked the chamber to consider long-term fiscal pressure and property-tax relief: "At some point, we've gotta draw a line. We've gotta start putting the brakes on. We've gotta stop saying, let's slow down the rate at which we've been building." Representative Behr and others said delaying major projects often raises costs. Representative Brown countered, "I wanna cut wasteful spending. This is not wasteful spending. Wasteful spending would be waiting for another year and spending another $11,000,000 for the exact same thing we can appropriate for today."

After the amendment was adopted, the House voted on final passage. House Bill 259 received the affirmative vote of a majority of members and passed the House with a roll-call result of 59 aye, 1 no and 2 excused. The bill, as amended, returns to further legislative processing as provided by chamber rules.