• Hope that adjustments in 2027 will help turn dirt

Another round of circumstances brought about by political uncertainty will delay what has been a planned expansion for activities and athletics at Star Valley High School.

A extension to SVHS to help alleviate a shortage of usable space on the east edge of the athletic wing has been put on hold, according to Superintendent Matt Erickson.

“We’ve tapped the brakes on that to be honest with you until we have a better understanding of the most recent recalibration and losing funds associated with the block grant,” he said. “We were set to turn dirt on a multi-purpose facility east of the high school which would be about 12,000 square feet.”

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According to Erickson, the expansion would allow for four more wrestling mats but would also be able to accommodate indoor usage for soccer, basketball, and throwing disciplines with indoor track.

Another Political Delay

For many years the district has been considering an expansion for activities and sports for a space that was too small to accommodate the host of youth wanting to participate. The old, “good problem” to have but still a significant problem. Opened in 1998, the current high school now has offerings and numbers out for activities and sports that have long exceeded the space. Perhaps no program has had to adapt more than wrestling as a winning culture, strong tradition and the addition of a girls program have pushed athletes to the auditorium stage, the National Guard Readiness Center, Star Valley Middle School and other options combined with the logistics of rotating practices with other sports.

An additional floor to help accommodate this long-time issue appeared to be ready to start construction in the spring of 2025, but uncertainty about tariffs and the price of steel spiked at the national level and the window for the project was closed. It also gave the district a chance to go back to the drawing board and consider more options.

The project is now on hold again due to political uncertainty, this time at the state level. The 2026 Wyoming Legislature passed a school recalibration bill that provided funds for schools but in a very different way that has most districts scrambling to understand how they can use their money toward aspects of education that are not directly related to educator’s salaries. It is this uncertainty which will again stall this particular expansion.

Erickson noted that there is hope that in next year’s legislative session that the process can be addressed to allow districts more leeway.

“We are anticipating that in the 2027 session that we can get some adjustments made and then the picture will become a lot more clear,” he added. “[The project] is on our radar and we want to do what’s best for students and student-athletes. But, we have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers so we are hitting the pause button.”

Inside the Numbers

While the expansion would not be a fix-all for all things, it would certainly help the bottleneck of SVHS activities.  In theory over 350 students would directly benefit from the new facility. They are broken down in the following numbers from the 2025-26 school year per SVHS.

Boys Wrestling: 45

Girls Wrestling: 33

Boys Basketball: 40

Girls Basketball: 36

Girls Soccer: 38

Boys Soccer: 37

Indoor Track: 72

Dance: 15

Cheer: 38