CHEYENNE - The flexibility the Legislature granted to Wyoming school districts for 8 percent of their major maintenance money is welcome although it is temporary and won't help the Granger school.

The amendment to Senate File 37, the school major maintenance bill, gives districts the freedom to spend 8 percent of their allocation on projects they choose, including maintenance of enhancements, like auditoriums and big swimming pools, that the state otherwise doesn't pay for.

The flex amounts to $2.6 million of the $33.69 million of major maintenance payments to the 48 school districts.

During the year the flex is in effect, the Select Committee on School Facilities will be studying the enhancement dilemma.

Jimmy Phelps, superintendent of Sweetwater County School District No. 2, said the failure of a bill to allow districts to levy three mills to pay for facility maintenance needs left a "vacuum" in the school facilities maintenance scheme.

The bill would have allowed the districts to levy one mill on property in the district while the other two mills could be imposed by a vote of the people.

A mill is one-tenth of one cent. The Wyoming Supreme Court eliminated the local mill levies for schools as part of school finance reform rulings.

During the recent budget session, the spirited battle to save the Granger elementary school from demolition consumed hours of debate in the House in particular with no success.

The flex will help with the vacuum caused by loss of the mill levy bill but won't "do much in terms of the Granger issue," Phelps said Tuesday.

The School Facilities Commission wants to demolish the old school and put up a modular unit for 19 students. The old school currently has 14 or 15 students.

For years the old school, which has a gymnasium and an auditorium, has been used by the Town of Granger, a hamlet of 146 residents located about 20 miles northwest of Green River.

The school district wanted to turn it over to the town of Granger along with the $220,000 in demolition money, which then could be used for repairs and maintenance.

The School Facilities Commission said no, and so did the Legislature.

James (Bubba) Shivler, director of the School Facilities Commission, said giving the demolition money to the district and town to maintain the old school would set a precedent.

Moreover, he said, the money would run out in a few years and the school probably would be torn down anyway.

Phelps said the district could upgrade the old school for about $450,000, including work on the furnace and ventilation system.

The School Facilities Commission said no because even with the upgrade, the old building had a life of only 15 years, while a new building would have a 50-year-life. The district is appealing that decision.

Phelps emphasized he doesn't want to appear dissatisfied with the actions of the Legislature this year because he is not.

But he said he tends to agree with school officials who claims the School Facilities Commission guidelines are too stingy on square footage.

"I think those standards are small for 19 kids," Phelps said of the commission's recommendation for the new Granger school. "What if we get 30 or 45 kids?"

Don Cravens, superintendent of Park County School District No. 1, said the guidelines for a new high school at Powell call for a smaller school than the district has now.

"I hate the way they just turned the faucet off," Cravens said.

He also said a major concern among his colleagues, particularly those from small schools, is the two-to-five-year lag on full major maintenance payments from the state after a new school is built.

For an emergency, the districts can get money from the School Facilities Commission. Cravens said his colleagues fear this arrangement can force the districts to consolidate schools.

For example, if a boiler goes out and a replacement isn't in the district's five-year plan, the commission can suggest moving the students into another school that has room, he said.