RIVERTON (WNE) — The Teton County Commission is giving some funding to Central Wyoming College this year. 

“That’s really encouraging news for us,” administrative services vice president Willie Noseep said, calling the decision “major.” 

Teton County does not assess a mill levy to support CWC, despite the extensive college services provided to the Jackson area. But in 2019 Teton County voters approved a special service excise tax to support the purchase of property for the school’s new center in Jackson. 

And now, Noseep said, the Teton County Commission has voted in favor of a $360,000 unrestricted allocation to CWC for fiscal year 2022. 

The total matches the historical average annual amount that CWC has spent in Teton County, Noseep said. 

CWC Trustee Nicole Schoening said the allocation represents a “nod [of] approval” from the Teton County Commission, wondering whether the college could return to the Teton County governing body in the future for additional funding. 

Noseep said there are several “different mechanisms” Teton County could use to contribute to CWC’s budget — mill levies and annexations, for example — and he said the commissioners indicated they would like the college to seek out those other options in the future. 

“They did encourage us to keep looking,” he said, though he noted that CWC “will go back” to the commission again for help if those other options do not materialize.