|
PINEDALE, Wyo. (AP) - Thanks to natural gas, Wyoming's schools have money to burn.
In the little Pinedale district way out in sagebrush country, for example, every fifth-grader has a new laptop. Many lessons are shown on oversized computer screens instead of chalkboards. And there are plans for a $17.2 million aquatic center, with a three-story climbing wall, two racquetball courts and a competition-size pool.
Rising production and soaring prices for natural gas have helped Wyoming produce huge budget surpluses over the past few years — $1.8 billion in 2006 alone and $900 million the year before that. And much of it has been pumped back into education.
|