School district considers new mill levy

The Board of Trustees is considering whether to implement an extra mill levy for Crook County School District to be used specifically for recreation.

As far as Chairman Chase Williams is aware, most of the school districts in Wyoming already collect this particular mill, and have done for some time.

"I feel like it should have been in place some time ago," says Williams. "People come to us with wants and needs and it would be nice to have a fund to draw from when these things come up."

The mill would likely raise somewhere in the region of $300,000 per year, he says. All proceeds would come directly to the school district and must be used strictly for recreation.

"Generating a little extra revenue just for Crook County that the state doesn't dictate how we use attracts me," he says.

"This is something where we would decide in our county the things we need."

While it would administered by CCSD, the fund could be used for projects that benefit more than just the students. The pool in Upton is an example of this, he says: it's funded through the school district's recreation account, but open to anyone who wants to use it.

In Crook County, Williams points out that the district's facilities are regularly used by the whole community for such things as get-togethers, reunions and funerals.

"The school is the meeting spot for the town, it feels like," he says. "If we want to grow our communities and we want to attract the kind of people who want to live in Crook County, I think it's good to be ahead of the game here a little bit and we could definitely put the funds to use on something that would benefit each town."

While the district would be the overseeing body for the fund, Williams says, it would not be limited to projects that are directly associated with the schools. It could also be used to assist with needs at the county fairgrounds, for example.

"We partner with a lot of different entities in the county. If it benefits students and it's for recreation, we could maybe use these funds," he says.

Williams already foresees a variety of uses for the fund, such as for uniforms and sports equipment. It could also have been used for flood lights on the football field in Hulett, for which the board recently voted to match the money that had been fundraised by the community in the amount of $131,540.

"We had to get crafty with our finances to make that work and it would be nice if we had a way to generate some funds for things that the whole community can use," he says.

Facilities are also a concern. Right now, he says, there is a pressing need for more practice space in Moorcroft.

There are three full-sized gyms available in Sundance, but Moorcroft has just one for tournament play – and it's the biggest school in the district. This will only become more problematic if the nearby communities continue to grow as they have in the recent past, he says.

"The way this conversation started is that we're out of room in Moorcroft for wrestling and basketball, so [we were] coming up with some ideas for how to get a little extra room for practicing," he says.

"We're currently using the Moorcroft Town Center for one of the gyms and the Town of Moorcroft owns that. I don't know how long it will be an option for us and I just hate to rely on another entity and not just ourselves."

As the county grows, more things of this nature are likely to come up, Williams says, and the mill would provide a way for the district to solve them.

"Over the time, we could potentially build some really nice things for the county," he says.

"I would like to be a little ahead of the ball and have some money in the bank if something comes up that we need."

If the board does choose to pass this mill, it will require the formation of a recreation committee or board to oversee it. This would include school board members, potentially alongside representatives from each of the towns, he says.

"The board would just oversee the funds...these are elected spots," he says.

Williams feels that the school district has a good track record of being accountable for its finances and using funds properly, and that this would carry over to the recreation fund.

"I don't feel like we've ever been frivolous or irresponsible with the funds we've been given by the state or the federal government or the county, so I feel very comfortable that it's going to be spent responsibly," he says.

Not a big fan of taxes himself, Williams nonetheless feels that this mill is a golden opportunity and something that should have been passed ten years ago.

"I'm very anti-tax, I'm a pretty conservative fellow myself. I just feel like it's a very small tax for something that we could get a huge benefit out of for all three towns," he says.

"It's my opinion that this is the very best use of taxpayer money...It's very minimal for the benefit you get."

At this time, discussions are in their earliest stages. The board aims to gather input before moving forward to make sure this is something the communities want, so will likely not make a final decision for at least the next couple of months.

The mill levy can be implemented through a board decision and does not require a public vote.

In the meantime, Williams invites anyone who wishes to share their opinion on this subject to attend an upcoming meeting of the board. If you are unable to attend, he can be contacted directly at williamsch@crook1.com or 307-756-2825.