Natrona County School District Looks to Build $1.18M Dollar Driver’s Ed Range

Tomorrow the Natrona County School District Board Infrastructure Planning Committee will meet to discuss several agenda items, one of them being the construction of a Driver's Education Range at the Natrona County School District Rittenour property, located along Wyoming Boulevard near the Central Wyoming Fairgrounds.

The funding request is $1,181,377.40 from the Capital Project Funds.

This per a memo from Executive Director Steve Ellbogen and NCSD Project Manager Doug Tunison to the Board Infrastructure Planning Committee.

Historically the school district has provided High School Driver's Education courses. The Kelly Walsh and Natrona County students are taught at Pathways Innovation Center. There are seven sections of the course offered in the fall and spring along with six sections in the summer.

The current Driver's Education Range is located at the Ford Wyoming Center and is owned by the City of Casper. A few of the driving skills practiced there include parallel parking, three-point turns, and two-point backing.

NCSD has had a formal agreement with the City since 2001 to use the range for driver's education, however the City notified the school district in 2023 that the MOU would not be renewed due to the need for additional parking.

Further, the demand for the course is always high, which results in a waitlist during each session.

The price tag for a new range, listed at 1.5 acres, includes $440,000 for the asphalt alone. The projected timeline is for the design phase to begin in July and be complete by September 30. Next comes bids and awarding a contract to a construction company. If successful, construction is set to begin in April next year with a completion date in June.