CHEYENNE - Community Action of Laramie County in Cheyenne provides blankets to keep the children who ride the organization's 1992 school bus warm.

The bus, which has 126,656 miles, doesn't heat properly and has no air conditioning.

Because of its age, parts are hard to find.

The director of the Office of State Lands and Investments is recommending the organization receive a $72,888 grant to pay 88 percent of the cost of a 54-passenger replacement bus.

The five elected state officials who sit on the State Loan and Investment Board will consider the applications today at their annual November meeting.

The state office received 20 grant requests totaling $1.1 million and recommended $939,659.

Three applications were denied because of lack of available funds.

The money comes from interest income earned on the Transportation Trust Fund corpus, which currently stands at $21.5 million, according to a report from the state office.

The cash balance coupled with a projected 2.5 percent interest income would provide $1.93 million for grants for the 2009-2010 biennium, or less than the $2 million appropriation for the two years because of market conditions that have caused a dramatic decrease in income to the state agency pool, which includes the transportation fund.

The director is recommending that the board allocate funds equally for the two meetings in the biennium.

Contact capital bureau reporter Joan Barron at (307) 632-1244 or joan.barron@trib.com