Letter To The Editor

To the Editor:

The board is considering building a gym, stage and additional rooms at the middle school. Below is a letter to my fellow board members regarding options we should consider that I sent several weeks ago and was referred to during the meeting.

This is the the link to the audio of the board meeting. The discussion begins around 58 minutes and lasts until about 1:30. You may be interested in listening.
http://win2016.richschool.org/min/dec19/dec19.mp3

Fellow Board Members,

On my way to Richfield for the boys tournament Friday, I will be stopping at the school in Delta to look at their new gym. Sorry I can't ride with you all but this saves me a lot of time. I have made a few notes on the building and future planning issue and have added an item we have not discussed which I believe should be part of the discussion.

The middle school gym is heavily used all school year and especially during winter season and it is basically scheduled from 8 am to 8 pm most days and on snowy days it is a challenge for elementary recess time. On Saturdays during mid-November through mid-February, many parents and children spend hours watching basketball as 2 each 7th & 8th grade teams play throughout the day. Because there is only one gym, when students play on multiple teams, parents watch games their own children don’t play in as they wait for the next game their child does play in. This makes for a long day for visiting teams and all parents and families who don’t live near the gym. We could also use some middle school classroom space and elementary classes are fairly full. There is one classroom available for growth in the elementary but if two or more classes increase beyond allowed students per class, we will have another problem to solve.

I see 4 options we can consider. The fourth option has been brought to my attention several times and I think it needs to be explored along with the first three.

1) No change.

No building, no program elimination.

2) Eliminate Middle school athletics.

Least cost to the district. We are the only middle school in the state that has a middle/jr High School athletics program. Our program exists partly due to our location and lack of club programs and also because we can play Wyoming schools. The Wyoming schools really don’t like to come to Rich Middle School to spend all day playing in one gym, so there is some pressure to provide better facilities. The Saturday middle school games could possibly be scheduled to play at the high school where two gyms are available. This option does not help the class room issue.

3) Build a new gym and additional classroom space at the middle school.

Greater than $4 million, plus cost of additional class room space. This would require asking the public to pay for a bond. We have asked an architecture firm to do some preliminary plans and cost estimates. The potential classroom structure has not had a preliminary done.

4) Plan for the future by buying land in Garden City and build an elementary school there.

No formal cost estimate but I am sure this option would be the most for initial cost but if we are going to spend 4-6 million dollars on a gym and expanding classrooms, then we should instead, consider building an elementary with a gym in Garden City. As of fall enrollment, 83 out of 120 (69%) children attending North Rich Elementary come from Garden City and the growth trend indicates Garden City will continue to grow. I looked at 2000 and 2010 census data and found children ages 5-19 in 2000 in Garden City was 111 children, in 2010 it was 173 children. I can’t find data but from my memory when I graduated in 1990, I think there would have been 70-80 children from Garden city. That makes a 30 year trend. Will this growth continue?

I hope we can be wise and judicious with public funds, provide good facilities for public education, and prepare for the near and distant future for the entire district.

Thanks for your consideration,

Bryce