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Albany County approves contingency funds to help Laramie High FFA go to national convention
Summary
Albany County approved a request from Laramie High School’s Snowy Range FFA chapter to use community contingency funding so students can attend the national FFA convention in October; commissioners discussed setting rules for future requests.
Albany County commissioners approved a request to use the county’s 1% community contingency fund to help Laramie High School’s Snowy Range FFA chapter attend the national FFA convention this fall.
Shanna Stinson, president of the Snowy Range FFA chapter, and other students told commissioners the chapter qualified six state‑champion teams and 22 students will travel to national events. "We had a super successful year at state convention having six state champion teams, which need to go to numerous national contests," Stinson said.
Danielle Coco, one of the students’ agriculture teachers, told commissioners the school district does not fund student travel to national competitions. "None of that is funded by the school district to travel," Coco said, adding the group raises funds but still faces significant costs.
Commissioners discussed limits on the contingency fund and whether similar school groups might request help. One commissioner said, "If we're gonna support animals, we dang sure should be supporting kids," while another said the county should adopt rules to make eligibility clear for future requests. The FFA travel dates were given as Oct. 24 to Nov. 1, and the presenters estimated the per-person cost at roughly $1,800 when airfare, hotels, registration and meals are considered; the chapter said it will also send adults to chaperone.
The board voted to approve the request from the community contingency pot; no annual guarantee was promised and commissioners said the funding is finite and may be subject to rules and eligibility criteria in the future. The motion to allocate contingency funding carried by voice vote; the meeting record shows the motion passed with ayes but does not record a dollar amount from the motion on the public transcript.
Commissioners congratulated the students and encouraged fundraising and future planning. The county clerk will process the paperwork for reimbursement under the community partners program as described in the county’s contingency funding process.
