Trade school proposed for MTC building

Moorcroft High School teacher Andrea Wood and father Senator Ogden Driskill addressed the Moorcroft Council at the Monday night meeting to advocate saving the MTC building and reforming it into a charter school for trade.

"The school I have in mind is a nine through 12 high school building that would serve about 60 students from Crook, Weston and Campbell Counties with open enrollment. All targeting students who have an interest in going into the trade skills, who know they're not college bound."

She said the school she envisions would teach electrical, plumbing and welding as well as early childhood education and provide CNA programs, each student graduating with all necessary certifications and placed in apprenticeship and intern programs.

Charter school students graduate with a regular high school diploma in Wyoming and, like home students, are allowed to join sports and other extracurricular activities.

Wood also made clear that charter schools in Wyoming are considered public schools and are funded accordingly.

The state offers three applications for charter schools for "schools that apply to their local boards and are denied to go to the next level and apply to the state for that charter to be granted", Wood explained.

"I have plans to apply to the state for that charter school if we have a building in place that will work for that...This has to have a place to be and the MTC is a perfect place for that school."

Wood then alluded to a conversation she and a member of the local school board entertained recently.

"They were less than amenable to the concept. That's not to say that things might change or the board might agree, but I don't foresee that the local school district will choose to engage with this pursuit," she said.

"I think," Wood continued, "looking at the assessment that was done recently, that the building is salvageable and folks in school facilities that I've spoken with seem to agree."

She argued the affordability of keeping the existing building compared to building new; however, there would be mandatory modifications to the existing building to bring it to current standards.

"The cool thing with these charter schools is the way the laws are set up so that once the charter is approved, the state is then responsible for providing funding for the maintenance of the building," she said.

"Would the state pay for the upgrades that would have to take place, Councilman Dale Petersen asked. "Electrical, plumbing, roof – the whole [thing]?"

"Yes," said Wood, "I believe so."

However, the timeline for all necessary applications and approvals, rehab of the building, hiring staff, etc, would take, potentially another few years, according to Driskill.

While the charter school Wood is suggesting would be geared for trades, Councilman Paul Smoot approved the idea of a charter school because of his own experience with the academic system.

"My kids actually went to a charter school in Cincinnati...it raised the bar and the education they got in that school was so superior that by the time I transitioned them into a public high school, they were like two years ahead of everybody. It was unbelievable," he said.

Driskill brought up another advantage to the added school: "Another thing that's very attractive to Moorcroft [is that] you're about to outgrow your school; these elementary classes are swamping the schools. They're going to be out of high school space in a very short period of time."

He added, "I think it has a chance to have a real impact on the community, a good one and it also help you folks; it doesn't fill all your building, but it does fill some of that space with something that really has an impact on the community."

Wood explained to the governing body her purpose for talking to them, saying, "If you guys don't feel that this would be a good use for that space and for this community, then it's dead in the water before it even begins and I am not interested in doing a lot of work to get to the end and find out that it wasn't possible to begin with."

After considering the conversation for a time, Petersen asked again about the possible funding from the state.

"The whole building, the amount of repairs it needs to function...the funding you're talking about for the rehab - that would be for the charter portion, but not for the remainder of the building?" he asked.

"There's some gray space there," Wood replied, "because the students would access and use the gym and weight room and now, those become instructional spaces; the preschool is an instructional space because there are students built into that program and the cafeteria and kitchen have student use so those become instructional spaces as well...Those are all pieces of the school."

The entities already existing in the building that serve the local community have already begun to consider ways to rehabilitate their areas as needed, according to the teacher.

Petersen reiterated the current position of the council, saying, "We're at a crossroads with that building."

He described the choices on the table regarding the future of the structure, stating, "For my side, I think the town has somewhat of a timeline as well. The MTC costs us a lot of money so we do have to make some decisions down the road here."

Mayor Ben Glenn shared his thoughts, "I'm not opposed to this, I like it...I think it's a good deal for the town. I would support it."

The council thanked Wood and Driskill for this added option to consider and later the mayor stated his opinion on the option of demolishing the building: "If we're going to spend money to demo, I'd rather spend money to rehab and not tear it down."

He advocated the plan submitted by Wood, saying, "I'd like to see that old building kept."

Petersen, however, said, "I would like to keep it all, but financially, it makes no sense... We want to save the building, but we can't bleed $50,000 a year the way we're currently doing."

He advised the need for more information before deciding.

They all agreed, though, regardless of the direction, with Glenn's suggestion of, "Let's just get there...and move on to the next step."

No decisions were made at this time.