WEDNESDAY, July 15, 2026|
Photo – Gymnasium at Elk Mountain school – Bigfoot99 file photo
The superintendent of School District Two met with town officials about the future of the Elk Mountain School.
Carbon County School District Two Superintendent Darrin Jennings was present at Monday evening’s Elk Mountain Town Council meeting to discuss alternative uses for the town’s school. Currently, the Elk Mountain School has no students and is being used as a combination town hall and community center. This arrangement benefits both the town and School District Two, as Elk Mountain evenly splits utility costs with the district.
Superintendent Jennings said the Elk Mountain School is entering its fourth year without any students. Because the state funds schools on a three‑year basis, Jennings said the facility will lose all state funding next July.
Jennings said the Wyoming School Facilities Commission has asked the District Two Board whether it wants to keep the school active or shut the facility down until students return, known as mothballing. He said mothballing would cut off the town’s access to the building, something school officials want to avoid.
Jennings said District Two pays roughly $20,000 a year to maintain the Elk Mountain School, with annual utility costs around $10,000, which the town splits evenly with the district. New education‑funding requirements prevent the district from using state money on a school with no students.
With that funding no longer available, Jennings presented four options for the Town Council to consider. Option One: keep the current setup and have the district cover all maintenance and operational costs for the Elk Mountain School. Jennings said high equipment replacement expenses make that a poor choice.
Option Two: sell the building to the town. However, Jennings said recent property tax reductions have likely left the town unable to afford the purchase. Option Three: mothball the building. Jennings said they’ve already discussed why that would be an unfavorable idea.
And finally, Option Four: convert the facility into a Board of Cooperative Educational Services, or BOCES, day school. Jennings said a residential day school would serve students with severe social, emotional, and behavioral needs that can’t be met in a traditional public-school setting.
The closest BOCES residential day school is the C‑V Ranch Therapeutic Residential School outside of Jackson. Jennings said having a day school in Elk Mountain would allow Carbon County students who need that level of specialized support to return home each day instead of living on the Jackson school campus.
Jennings said he reached out to nearby school districts to ask if they had any need for a day school. Based on their answers, he said the facility may see as many as 10 students from both Carbon and Albany counties.
Not only would transforming the Elk Mountain School into a BOCES day school benefit students, but it would also benefit the district. Jennings said the state agency would rent the building from the district and pay to staff it with highly skilled educators.
Jennings said the town would continue being able to use the building if the district converts it into a day school. The facility could also still serve as a regular school and an attendance center when severe weather prevents Elk Mountain students from reaching Hanna. He noted that the idea is still in the very early planning stages and requires a School Board vote to move forward. The district superintendent said he will keep the Elk Mountain Town Council informed of any future developments.
