Riverton auditorium moves ahead despite funding postponement | Education

The Fremont County School District 25 Board of Trustees approved a contract with the state this month for the $8.2 million construction project.

FCSD 25 superintendent JoAnne Andre-Flanagan said the move would “assure we would not have to start over with anything … even though the funding has been postponed.”

She reiterated that Gordon issued a “postponement – not a cancellation” and noted that Wyoming’s Select Committee on School Facilities recently agreed to draft legislation to continue to fund the project.

“They’re very supportive of it,” Andre-Flanagan said. “They’ll continue to push for funding as it becomes available.”

During a meeting last week, Andre-Flanagan said she had spoken with an official with the state construction department who indicated the project would move forward in the future.

“He felt like funding would come around and would be there, and as soon as the money was in place everything was ready to roll,” she said. “It was an encouraging conversation.”

Funding for the project was part of a bill passed this year by the Wyoming Legislature, but subsequent budget cuts tied to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the continuing Wyoming energy recession led Gov. Mark Gordon to halt the project.