NC School District Pays For Now, Challenges Later

Artificial turf for NCHS and swimming pool repairs at KW continue to be the responsibility of Natrona County School District after the State School Facilities Commission upheld an earlier decision not to pay for them with state money.

Listen here,

" I was disappointed, obviously, in the recommendations that they made, but I do feel like part of our interest in this was to really inform the commissioners that Campbell 4 really is a game changer."

Natrona County School District Superintendent, Joel Dvorak, is referring to a Wyoming Supreme Court decision in 2008 that Natrona Country School District officials believe spells out a responsibility on the part of the state to provide adequate facilities for required educational programing. That required programming includes school sports.

The Wyoming School Facilities Commission on Monday chose to uphold a School Facilities Department decision not to fund the projects, because they consider the artificial turf replacement and swimming pool repairs as enhancement maintenance and not covered by major maintenance funds.

Following the decision, the Natrona County School Board agreed, as a next step, to formally ask for an exception.

In the long run, Dvorak says, the district intends to further the process of clarifying the intention of that earlier supreme court ruling known as 'Campbell 4'.

"Having this legal landscape continue to evolve and the rules and regs continue to evolve...to follow Campbell 4 is just a natural progression and we're going to help that happen."

The district made the repairs to the pool and installed the artificial turf this summer and is now looking for reimbursement for the just over $700 thousand  spent.