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Committee hears call to reimburse bus purchases up front and end bus leases; state cash‑flow tradeoffs flagged
Summary
Business managers and legislators questioned the current practice of reimbursing bus purchases over five years and suggested reimbursing full bus purchase costs at acquisition to reduce district reliance on leases. Legislators warned of a short‑term state budget/cash‑flow hit if reimbursement rules change and asked LSO to model fiscal impact.
CHEYENNE — School business managers and legislators debated whether the state should reimburse districts 100 percent for bus purchases in the year the district buys the bus instead of reimbursing 20 percent over five years.
Carbon County and other business managers testified that the five‑year reimbursement schedule requires districts to front the full purchase price, pushing some districts to lease buses (which typically increases total lifetime cost) or draw on reserves. Advocates argued that reimbursing the entire purchase price at the time of acquisition would reduce district borrowing costs and avoid lessee interest premiums.
Senators asked fiscal staff to model the near‑term state cash‑flow effect of accelerating reimbursement, warning that a single‑year reimbursement schedule would create a large one‑time budget requirement in the state account that funds the foundation program. The chair and co‑chair directed LSO to evaluate a phased approach and to include the bus‑reimbursement policy in the draft recalibration bill for additional public consideration.
— Reporting for the Select Committee on School Finance
