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Trustees press for quick action after Mercer study; county to consider emergency restroom and separate vestibule funding
Summary
Superintendent Chapman told trustees the county commission will consider emergency funding June 25 for a single‑stall Summit restroom and a separate 'most cost‑effective remedy' study for a security vestibule, a move trustees welcomed after a multi‑year Mercer review of high‑school suitability.
Superintendent Chapman and trustees spent a significant portion of the June 11 meeting reviewing the long Merc er consultant process the district has used to seek state funding for high‑school improvements. Chapman said he remains frustrated the district has not yet reached final funding approvals and described a seven‑year effort that repeatedly stalled at approval gates.
Chapman said county director Del McComley informed him the June 25 county commission agenda will include an emergency funding request to create a single‑stall restroom at Summit to meet a statutory requirement for single‑use facilities. Chapman said the commission will also consider separating the security vestibule from the larger Mercer study so the vestibule could be funded and started more quickly.
Trustees pressed staff on whether the Mercer consultant (MGT and Rob Tanner) accounted for local housing growth and whether the study’s scope (suitability vs. capacity) had limited its findings. Trustee Bosch and others said the consultant focused on statewide birth rates and not on Teton County’s local growth, and they discussed whether the board should commission local feasibility work to supplement Mercer’s analysis. Chapman cautioned that the consultant’s contracted scope was suitability rather than capacity, and that adding new studies might not change the consultant’s conclusions unless the state accepted the new evidence.
Board members called the separation of the vestibule from the larger study a "huge win" and discussed negotiation strategies with county staff to maximize available funding; several trustees also discussed possible next steps if the commission stalls after June 25. Chapman said he plans to attend the June 25 meeting.
Next steps include superintendent and trustees coordinating with the county commission on June 25, exploring whether the commission will accept additional feasibility numbers, and preparing any further documentation the county or state would accept to support the district’s request.
