STILLWATER COUNTY — Stillwater County commissioners announced on Thursday that they would not add Park City schools to list of schools that receive money due to impacts from the Stillwater Mine.
That plan allocates funds from the Stillwater Mine to schools in Stillwater County, including Absarokee and Columbus. Park City was never a part of that agreement.
In February, Park City residents pleaded to the commissioners that they should be added to the list of schools benefiting. The school has been struggling financially for years, and voters have failed multiple levies.
"We're just tight, you know?" Park City Superintendent Dan Grabowska said Thursday morning. "We tried to pass a mill levy last year, and it didn't go."
During the contentious meeting in February, the commissioners elected to hire a neutral third party to decide whether Park City should be included in the funding.
On Thursday, during the more sparsely attended commissioners' meeting, commissioners announced that a study done by the third party showed that the school doesn't have enough families who work at the mine to qualify for the funding. The allocation of impact plan dollars is based on the number of mine workers who live in certain districts.
"The numbers don't line up to request an amendment," said County Commissioner Steve Riveland. "It's unfortunate for the schools in Park City. I understand that, but I'm confident that we made the right decision based on the information we have."
Grabowska said it was difficult to hear the news, with the district facing a lot of questions heading into this school year.
"This year, I have to do a math teacher that's also going to be doing music," Grabowska said. "We're going to have full classrooms, less teachers and this funding would've really helped with some of those issues."
The school is also still using modular trailers instead of a building because the building is too small to host the students and levies continue to fail.
"Park City is going to continue to do the best we can to educate our kids," Grabowska said. "We have to be as creative as possible, right?"
Riveland said that while he understands the decision was disheartening, there's not much more the county can do at this point and that there's really only one option left.
"The folks that live in the district need to step up and pass a levy," Riveland said.
