Appropriations committee advances supplemental K–12 facilities bill; adds Campbell County projects

The Senate Appropriations Committee on a roll-call vote of 5-0 advanced House Bill 259, a supplemental K–12 school facilities appropriation package that the committee’s presenters said mirrors the governor’s recommendations and covers 21 projects totaling about $206,901,896.

Committee staff and the State Construction Department described the package as a mix of component projects, design work and construction funding drawn from a governor-recommended priority list. Del McComley, director for the State Construction Department, said the bill largely implements projects identified through the department’s facility-condition assessments and related Mercer (most-cost-effective-remedy) studies and that major maintenance funding appears in House Bill 1 instead.

The bill lists a series of component and construction projects. Among the largest items discussed were replacement work tied to Campbell County High School (Mercer recommendations supporting replacement were cited at roughly $144,569,700), transportation-facility work, demolition allowances (about $6.3 million and roughly $1 million stated for two demolitions) and assorted HVAC and electrical upgrades in other districts (examples cited during the hearing included $5.5 million for Wyoming Indian High School and about $4.4 million for a KC School HVAC project).

Campbell County officials and residents urged the committee to add or protect design and construction funding for Campbell County High School, which they and district staff described as functionally obsolete and in poor condition. Dave Bartlett, associate superintendent for Campbell County School District, said the district updated Mercer work after talking with department staff and that both the district and commission have approved the district’s replacement case. “We are ready to move forward on that project,” Bartlett said, adding that the district expects to bid its transportation facility in July and warned that delay would increase costs.

Representative Ken Clauston, whose House district includes part of Gillette, described long-standing building problems at Campbell County High School: “I’ve seen sewer dripping out of the ceiling into our principal’s copier. I’ve seen kids in wheelchairs have to be carried up the stairs because elevators don't work,” Clauston said. Teacher and former staff witnesses described accessibility problems, unreliable HVAC units (some reported to be 20–37 years old), deteriorating finishes and challenging learning environments.

Committee members pressed staff on how priorities are developed. McComley described a multi-factor process that considers condition (facility condition index, or FCI), capacity and adequacy under state rules. The department’s facility-condition assessment (FCA) looks at building components and projects condition forward across a 20-year horizon. McComley said the department now owns Mercer studies (the commission funds and the department manages Mercer consultants) and that an FCI threshold of 0.3 triggers a Mercer review; districts may appeal Mercer findings through the department and then to the commission.

McComley also gave committee members several process and schedule notes: Rock Springs High School, which received a $150 million appropriation in an earlier session, is in the Mercer-completion and design pipeline and the department expects the Mercer package to reach the commission for approval in mid-month; Rock Springs’ Mercer projects are expected to be completed and could open to students in the 2029–30 school year if design and construction proceed as planned. For Campbell County, the committee heard that prior appropriations for design were roughly $7.6 million (committee discussion initially referenced $7.2 million, corrected to $7.6 million), and the bill as amended would add approximately $4.38 million in design funding so the district could proceed to selection of design consultants and full design work — bringing design-phase funding to roughly $11–12 million in total.

The committee also discussed the state’s emergency major-maintenance pot (McComley stated roughly $4.5 million is available) and the effect of inflation and timing on projects that sit unbuilt for a year. McComley said the FCA now tracks components forward, so when major maintenance is completed the FCI score updates and reflected changes in need.

After public testimony from school officials, teachers and community members, the committee adopted an amendment that adds Campbell County-related items and advanced HB 259 as amended on a 5–0 roll-call vote. The roll call recorded Senator Driscoll, Senator Giroux, Senator Larson, Senator Smith and Chairman Salazar voting aye. The committee recommendation was reported out as "do pass, amended." The bill will proceed to the full Senate for further consideration.

Votes at a glance

- House Bill 259 (supplemental K–12 school facilities appropriation), committee-amended: do pass, amended; committee roll-call vote 5–0 (Driscoll, Giroux, Larson, Smith, Salazar — ayes).