Laramie County School District #1 officials presented four options for the disposition of Miller Elementary School and asked the board for direction to include in the district's long-range facility plan.

Executive Director of Support Operations Andy Knapp summarized the options during a work session: mothball the building (close and board it while retaining it in district inventory); repurpose it for noneducational district support uses; sell the property; or demolish the building and retain the site. "We're talking about the disposition of Miller Elementary School in May 2025," Knapp said as he opened the presentation.

The mothball option would keep the district's ownership but leave the building vacant and boarded. Knapp warned of higher vandalism risk and maintenance obligations; he also said mothball designations are limited by district practice to two schools at a time and to three years unless renewed. "If it's mothballed, it's basically closed down and not in use," Knapp said.

Repurposing would likely mean noninstructional uses such as heated storage for district equipment, staging for furniture and supplies, or other support operations located near the district's existing facilities complex. "Repurposing costs, of course, if you were gonna repurpose it for anything substantial, you would have, be uncertain of the funding," Knapp said, but he added that an occupied building generally reduces vandalism risk and can remain available for other options later.

Selling the property would eliminate the district's building and maintenance costs but could remove a central campus site and a secondary access route; trustees raised concerns about losing the field and playground that adjoin the building. Demolition would reduce inventory and ongoing building costs but requires external funding. Knapp said the district will request demolition funds through the School Facilities Program (SFP) and that, if funded in the 2027 session, demolition would likely start after July 2027.

Trustees pressed staff for more detail on operating costs and liability. "Utilities, while it's occupied, [run] about $40,000 a year," said Mister Ciccarelli when asked to estimate the district's annual utilities for the building. Staff said a mothballed building would be maintained at a lower setback temperature but would still carry insurance and minimal maintenance costs.

Several trustees said repurposing best balances ongoing needs and future flexibility given Miller's location adjacent to the Facilities Complex, the Nutrition complex and the administration building. "Because of where it is ... I think repurposing makes a lot of sense for this particular building," Trustee Ashley said during the work session.

No formal vote was taken in the work session. Staff said they would use trustees' comments to draft a motion for the next regular board meeting; that motion will be added to the district's long-range facility plan, which staff said is due in November.

Clarifying details discussed included a three-year mothball limit, a utility estimate of about $40,000 per year while occupied, the district's ability to split building and land (retain north access while selling other parcels), and the SFP as the likely funding channel for demolition. Staff also advised that repurposing leaves future options open, including later sale or demolition.