As state lawmakers mull the latest revenue projections it appears that in a few years the state will have a lot less money for education, especially new school construction. 

It’s largely because revenue from coal lease bonus sales is down and that’s what pays for school construction. But a court ruling mandates that the state pay for school construction and maintenance so Wyoming will need to find another way to pay for it. 

The legislature’s Joint Revenue Committee is working on solutions and House Committee Chairman Mike Madden said one idea is a type of statewide property tax increase called a mill.

“One possibility would be a statewide school construction mill levy, I don’t know if that would be popular or not, but I think it would be more palatable if we have the right kind of financial information so that we can put a sunset on it and say as soon as this happens we may not need this mill anymore.”

But Madden said getting support for a tax hike is difficult.

“I think we are going to have to spend the next interim talking about what we can all support, because if we can’t get support out of the joint revenue committee, there is really no hope.”

Madden says the committee will look at other revenue options, but he said finding enough money for school construction may be difficult.