RIVERTON (WNE) — Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon has postponed funding for a new auditorium at Riverton High School.

The news came in the form of a letter to the Wyoming Select Committee on School Facilities, indicating that Gordon was “exercising his right, statutorily, (to) adjust budget funds based on revenue issues, which we know we’re facing in the state,” Riverton school superintendent JoAnne Andre-Flanagan said Friday.

Gordon was “very clear,” however, that the move was “a postponement – not a cancellation,” Andre-Flanagan said.

The school facilities committee also expressed support for the project during a meeting Wednesday, agreeing to create legislation to fund the construction in the future, she said.

“[We] looked at a bill to say it’s a postponement and we’ll maintain our priorities,” Wyoming Sen. Eli Bebout, R-Riverton, said.

Bebout, who sits on the school facilities committee, said he understands the changes Gordon has made to the state’s budget in light of the “huge deficit” created by the coronavirus pandemic and the depressed minerals industries in the state.

“It’s responsible,” Bebout said. “Things have really changed. This deficit is real. … We’ve got some serious issues out there.”

Until the state’s funding problems are resolved, Andre-Flanagan said, her team will do all it can to advance the project so it is ready for construction once the state funding is available.