CHEYENNE - A new Casper Star-Tribune poll shows a strong willingness by Wyoming voters to spend the state's $550 million budget surplus.

And while K-12 education and highways rank at the top of the collective priority list, individual voters had plenty of ideas about where the money should go.

Frank Morrow, a retired electrician in Cheyenne, said the state needs to take care of its secondary and interstate highways.

"We can put money away forever, but (saving) is not going to do any good to rebuild and keep things going," Morrow said.

Lavera Cruickshank, a retired homemaker in Worland, said her priorities are children and roads.

"I think our roads are getting down and they need repairing," Cruickshank said. "But also I think they should put in something for these kids - maybe get something for these kids and give them something to do."

Cruickshank said she was less supportive of state-subsidized child care, which is being considered by the Legislature.

"I think some people just ride that quite a bit, but then again some of it is needed," she said.

Nancy Fox, a resident of Grover in Lincoln County, said child care should be a top priority of the state. A mother of two, Fox said children need good care during a critical time in their development.

"I hear people say, 'It's a family issue,' but I'm concerned that people who are making minimum wage or a little above are spending a significant portion of their income on child care," Fox said.

Fox also said the state should raise the pay for state troopers. "Those guys just don't make enough money," she said. "I think it's not very much for the risks they take and the work they do."