K-12 enrollment is up in the Cowboy State.

Data released Thursday by the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) shows nearly 700 more students enrolled in public schools this year compared to the 2014-15 school year.

"We went from 93,303 students last school year to 94,002 students this school year," said Kari Eakins, Communications Director for the WDE. "We had about 83,700 students in the 2005-06 school year, but enrollment has been rising every year since then."

Eakins says the amount of funding school districts receive from the state is largely dependent on their enrollment numbers.

"They do a snapshot of their district on October 1 of every year and then send that information to the state," said Eakins. "That information determines how much money each school district will receive."

Eakins says if enrollment numbers continue to climb and oil and natural gas prices continue to drop, the Legislature may have to find alternative ways to fund school construction in the future.

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