The exterior of the Lansing Correctional Center is seen Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017, in Lansing, Kan. Kansas corrections officials said Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017, that they are considering replacing the state's largest prison with a modern facility that would be safer and cheaper to maintain. (Mark Rountree/The Leavenworth Times via AP)

Topeka ? The Kansas Department of Corrections is telling legislators it could cut staffing at its largest prison by having a private company build a new facility and lease it to the state.

Corrections Secretary Joe Norwood said in a presentation for a Wednesday meeting of a House budget subcommittee that the Lansing prison’s staffing could drop to 392 employees from the current 686.

His presentation projected annual staffing costs would drop to less than $21 million from nearly $35 million.

Norwood announced last week that the department will seek proposals from private companies to build a new prison. The state would mothball but preserve the oldest parts of the prison that date to the 1860s but tear down the rest.

The department has described a lease-purchase deal as one possible option.