Community Colleges Face Budget Challenges

CASPER, Wyo. (AP)Some of Wyoming's seven community colleges are looking for ways to save money in anticipation of lower state aid and local tax revenue.

Gov. Matt Mead announced last month that Wyoming would face a $618 million drop in revenue in the next three years because of low prices for energy industry commodities.

Community colleges receive about 60 percent of their revenue from the state based, about 20 percent from tuition and fees and another 20 percent comes from local property taxes, including volatile oil and gas taxes.

Matt Petri, of the Wyoming Community College Commission, says Western Wyoming Community College in Sweetwater County and Northwest College in Park County are expecting 22 and 23 percent drops from their local revenue.