State school facilities staff presented the Appropriations Committee with a package of construction requests totaling $77,359,731 from the School Foundation Fund that the governor approved as a one‑time request.

Miss Carlson, presenting priority number 12 (construction), said the agency expects an East High School request next year and estimated that project at “between 36 and $38,000,000.” The package on the table included a $12,632,827 allocation for Moorcroft Junior High to complete a large component project and $33,298,901 to construct a new Hobbs Elementary School. The agency also listed a $29,934,003 request for a new Rendezvous Elementary School in Fremont 25.

Carlson said ARP elementary design is roughly 60 percent complete and that the district increased planned capacity for one facility from 450 to 550 students, a change that raises local infrastructure needs. She described the Rendezvous request as a brand‑new facility to be sited on the existing campus; the district purchased adjacent lots to support a new bus drop and to avoid costly swing‑space arrangements during construction.

Committee members asked for clarifications about siting and the condition of existing buildings. Carlson said decisions about whether to demolish or repurpose older buildings (including using an existing building as an alternative school) are separate from the current construction request. She also flagged pending Mercer studies and other future requests the agency expects to bring to the committee in coming sessions.

The presentation closed with the agency listing future projects on its radar — including Saddle Ridge 2 (Cheyenne) estimated at about $40 million (2028), Meadowlark Elementary (Laramie) at roughly $25 million (2029), and a Cole Elementary replacement estimated at $40–$45 million (2030). The agency said asbestos abatement and demolition estimates will return once investigations and design work are complete.

The committee did not take final action on individual projects during the hearing; staff said several of the items will return with design updates, abatement estimates or Mercer study outcomes.