Kathleen Britton has a decisive lead lead over Danny Glasser in the election for Park City School Board Seat 3 with half the votes reported as counted so far.

The latest update released by the Summit County Clerk’s Office on Thursday night shows 931 voters cast their ballots for Britton, compared to 652 for Glasser.

Unopposed candidate Susan Goldberg’s vote total was 1,171 for Seat 1, and unopposed Seat 2 candidate Eileen Gallagher had 1,422, or all of the total votes cast in their districts so far.

Glasser — the former CEO of the Utah Disability Center — is running to support educators and because he saw issues within the district he feels he can help solve. He believes a lot of resources have been spent on litigation and other unnecessary areas and wanted to promote fiscal responsibility, transparency and accountability.

He also believes his experience would have helped the board as its members seek a new superintendent for the district.

“There is elements of trust that has been lost amongst these last couple of years,” he said. “You can’t have the taxpayers paying the dollars to the school system but not trusting or feeling aligned with the decisions being made.”

Britton has led a statewide nutrition program for schools throughout Utah for more than a decade, and she did similar work locally for Park City School District for more than two decades before that. As Glasser has boasted his experience working with boards and organizations of varying sizes, she’s championed her experience working directly with school boards on state and local levels. Like Glasser, she’s seen a lack of trust and confidence the community has in the school district.

“I have helped with the Legislature for passing bills,” she said. “I feel that I can restore confidence in our community and with our local school board and help people realize how it used to be and how we can all work together again.”

Because three of the five board members will be new to their positions, she believes her experience with other school boards and administrative and budgeting processes will be helpful.

Glasser is looking to be “as transparent as possible while meeting the requirements of the individual privacy and the district’s legal council.”

On the topic of transparency, Britton said she would “follow the procedures that the state and local district have developed.”  

Local election officials plan to release updated results with more counted ballots Wednesday.

The winner will join Gallagher and Goldberg — both candidates who are running uncontested — as well as current board members Meredith Reed and Nicholas Hill on the school board in January.

The school board is coming to the end of a rocky year that hit its nadir when all three incumbents quit their reelection campaigns in spring and early summer before in August ramming through a renewal of embattled district Superintendent Jill Gildea’s next contract 3-2 while still in office. They apparently didn’t realize at the time she had lined up her next job, which she began the Friday before Election Day, though the district will pay her through January 2025.

The board also raised school taxes 2.8% at the same time.

The district struggled in the aftermath of a civil rights investigative report issued last spring that showed lax handling of nearly 200 documented cases involving students bullying other students. The effort to overcome the failings shown in the report stepped up this fall.

In September, the district announced that Gildea had “retired” and named Treasure Mountain Junior High Principal Caleb Fine the interim superintendent.

One of the top priorities for the new school board will be selecting the next permanent superintendent.

The candidates all were critical of the current school board and administration during their campaigns and pledged to restore trust in the school board.

The post Britton takes firm lead over Glasser in Park City School Board race appeared first on Park Record.

Early election results released by Wasatch County Clerk’s Office Tuesday evening showed Republican Mark Nelson ahead of Democrat Sherrie Bercuson in the race for County Council Seat E. As of Thursday, Nelson has secured a win with 59% of the vote.

From the ballots processed, Nelson had gotten 2,247 votes and Bercuson 1,214.

The two candidates answered questions about their plans if elected at a Heber Valley Chamber of Commerce debate last month.

They were asked about the Heber Valley Corridor project, a bypass route that the Utah Department of Transportation has faced complications and delays in planning. Some of the proposed routes cutting through the valley’s North Fields have drawn criticism from people who want to preserve the area. 

Nelson said issues the County Council faces are often “very, very complicated.”

“None are more complicated than this one,” he said. “We have two forces that are diametrically opposed to each other.”

He said on one hand, many in Wasatch County, including himself, consider the community’s North Fields to be the “crown jewel of Wasatch County” that must be preserved. On the other, Heber City’s Main Street is a federal highway, and it’s failing.

“There’s no easy solution, but we have to trust the process and the other entities to figure out this painful solution,” he said.  

Bercusson said the issue is as big as it is because UDOT waited too long to construct the road.

“We must hold them accountable for waiting so long to do this work,” she said. “We must demand a speedy decision.”

Nelson said he decided “somewhat reluctantly” to run for a third term because, while he can think of several more fun things he could do with his next four years, he couldn’t think of much else he could do to help Heber Valley more.

“I love Wasatch County, and for most of the time it’s been a lot of fun and very challenging to serve on the County Council,” Nelson said. 

Bercuson recommended that Nelson find something else to do for the next four years with a chuckle.

“I love the valley. I love everything about this. I’m excited about working with the council. I love working with people,” Bercuson said. 

She added that she would favor more town halls to help inform people of what the council is doing. 

The post Mark Nelson wins Wasatch County Council Seat E over Sherrie Bercuson appeared first on Park Record.

Wasatch County election results show that Kim Dickerson, Breanne Dedrickson and Tom Stone have all come out on top to represent voters on the Wasatch County School District.

Running for Seat F, Dickerson secured 1,716 votes compared to her opponent Randall Lund’s 1,058. In the race for Seat G, Dedrickson won 1,228, while her opponent Marianne Allen had 1,129. And vying for Seat E, Stone has 1,590, while his opponent Bradley Ehlert trailed at 1,472.  

Allen and Dedrickson

Dedrickson chose to run to make sure the district “has the policies, resources and support” to provide the best and most fiscally responsible education to kids.

She said she looks towards teacher retention and compensation, strong professional development, open communication, safe and appropriate school facilities and fiscal responsibilities as her highest priorities.

Allen, an incumbent, said she’s committed to making sure teachers and staff have needed resources and keeping the district on what she believes is the right path. 

Her biggest priority is balancing teachers’ and students’ needs with the fiscal demands they put on the community. 

Ehlert and Stone

Stone said his will to run came from his family’s experiences as students in Wasatch County School District, and the ongoing burden from property taxes he and others in Heber Valley have felt.

He said his biggest priorities are protecting taxpayers and “enhancing student success and real-world preparation.”

“I feel my straightforward approach to life will offer full transparency and clear open communication,” he said. “I will be the voice advocating for concerns.”

Ehlert said he decided to run because the “community deserves real transparency and accountability,” and he wants to make sure all decisions from fund allocation to growth management “reflect what’s best.”

His top priorities include transparency, accountability and financial responsibility.

Neither Stone nor Ehlert currently have a seat on the school board. The spot is currently held by Tom Hansen

Dickerson and Lund

Lund decided to run in order “to represent the people — the voters, taxpayers, parents.”

His highest priorities are a disciplined budget that doesn’t overtax people, higher education standards “and protecting the children from harmful social/political agendas.”

Dickerson, the incumbent, said her biggest reasons for running are students and teachers. She said there are aspects of education she didn’t have in her youth, and she wants to help provide the best possible education and opportunities for the students in the community.

Her highest priorities are attracting and retaining high-quality staff and teachers and making a safe, supportive environment where kids could learn.

The post It’s Dickerson, Dedrickson and Stone for Wasatch County School Board appeared first on Park Record.

Kendall Crittenden has secured a win for Wasatch County Council Seat D, succeeding both Tori Broughton and Jami Hewlett.

Preliminary election results released Tuesday night showed Kendall Crittenden ahead of Broughton and Hewlett in their race for Wasatch County Council Seat D.

Final results show that Crittenden ultimately secured 54% of the vote with 1,262 ballots counted for the incumbent councilor.

Broughton decided to run for County Council after unsuccessfully running for a seat on Heber City Council just last year. She’s only lived in the community for a few years, but her role as store manager at the Trek Bicycle Heber City shop as well as her regular attendance of city and county council meetings helped her quickly get acquainted with ongoing government considerations, issues and plans.

She chose to run under the United Utah Party, as she “didn’t feel at home” in the Democratic or Republican camps.

Crittenden, a Republican and retired schoolteacher from Wasatch County School District and incumbent councilor of 20 years, ran to his seat and cited his years of experience and knowledge about the county as reasons for doing so. 

Broughton hoped to disrupt what she considered “groupthink” among long-standing councilors. She’s raised concerns that county spending to preserve open space has largely gone to private land rather than public areas, a need for more amenities such as public parks, willingness to support Heber City’s downtown redevelopment efforts and concerns that the Utah Department of Transportation has shown inconsistency or discrepancies when discussing the Heber Valley Corridor project — a bypass route plan to alleviate local traffic that has faced several delays and complications — with different governments throughout the county.

Crittenden has sought for more clarification on what projects Heber City would like to focus on before putting his support behind their redevelopment program, and he sees the county’s rapid growth as “a real concern” as Heber City is currently considering plans that could lead to several annexations, one of which could add up to 4,000 home units to the community.

He also expressed his hopes to expand the county’s parks and recreation programs. If elected, he hopes he can be a beneficial part of the bypass process with UDOT and that there would be a definite route in place by the end of his next term.

Hewlett ran as a Libertarian and has been less vocal about her specific platforms than either of her competitors. She has emphasized the importance she places on the community’s quality of life and responsible growth.

The post Kendall Crittenden succeeds Tori Broughton for Wasatch County Council Seat D appeared first on Park Record.

Shortly after candidate filings in Summit County ended earlier this year, there were a total of eight candidates running for three open Park City School District Board seats, including all three incumbents up for reelection.

Now, on the eve of Election Day, four are candidates left. All three of the incumbents quit their races months ago, and only one of the three positions still remains competitive. Vying for Seat 3, Kathleen Britton is up against Danny Glasser.

Many of the race’s candidates have broadly agreed on several issues: stronger efforts against discrimination and harassment, studying the budget and promoting responsible, accountable leadership.

Differences

Britton has led child nutrition programs for Utah schools for a decade. She did similar work in Park City schools for over 20 years before that.

Glasser is a former CEO of the National Ability Center who said he decided to run because he wants to support teachers and he noticed ways he believes he can help the district improve.

According to Glasser, his experiences being on several boards to work on budgets and collaborate with executives uniquely qualify him.

“Running organizations, large and small, especially ones that require government collaboration and lobbying provides a critical set of skills that I believe would be a benefit to our school board,” Glasser said. “I have had direct ownership with guiding strategic planning partnerships, finance and operations.”

As the district is soon to begin the process of seeking a new superintendent and as Glasser’s recognized a “need to tighten our fiscal management and need to support the executive leadership team of the district,” he thinks his experience would greatly serve the schools.

Britton believes her work at the state level will be helpful to the board.

“I participated actively with legislators in passing bills,” she said. “I am familiar with how the legislative process works and flows down to school districts. I understand how administrative and budgeting processes work at both the state and local levels, due to my 32-plus years working with and for boards of education.”

As three of the five members of the board will be new next year, she said her experience with school boards and administrative and budgeting processes would be helpful.

Transparency

Glasser said that “in light of the lack of transparency of the last few years, I would side on being as transparent as possible while meeting the requirements of the individual privacy and the district’s legal council.”

He said he thinks of media outlets as the district’s partners to share plans, and the reasoning behind decisions and believes board members should represent and regularly communicate with their constituents and district stakeholders, including administrators, educators, parents, students, partners and citizens as a whole.

Britton said she plans to “follow the procedures that the state and local district have developed.”

“This can be a tricky area where privacy and civil rights must be taken into consideration,” Britton said.

Last minute messages

“I will work to make our school system one that ensures academic and social equity for all children,” Britton said. “I have lived in this community for 40 years and want to give back to the new generation.”

Both Britton and Glasser indicated that even if they lose, they intend to continue working to help the district. 

Specifically, Britton said she’d like to be more involved in future planning efforts. 

Glasser said he will keep reading in elementary schools, supporting athletics and drama productions, his support of the Park City Education Foundation and his involvement in other community organizations.

The post Large field winnowed to one contested race for Park City School Board appeared first on Park Record.

Earlier this month, Jami Hewlett, Wasatch County councilor candidate and Heber City Planning Commission alternate member, publicly distributed a letter she wrote and falsely attributed to Winston Lee of Lee Music raising concerns he didn’t actually have about Heber City’s downtown plans.

Monday, she received an ultimatum from city officials: Resign or get voted off the Planning Commission.

She doesn’t plan to resign.

Mayor Heidi Franco sent Hewlett a letter asking her to resign, and Hewlett posted a picture of the document to several community Facebook pages.

“As the mayor and per the City Code listed below, I am asking for your resignation as Alternate on the Heber City Planning Commission effective immediately,” the document states. “If you do not take this opportunity to resign, then the City Council will take a public vote tomorrow during the regular City Council meeting.”

Hewlett said the mayor told her the decision was connected with the erroneous letter she sent out earlier this month, though she didn’t include that on her online posts about the request for resignation.

“They have the authority to remove me from the Planning Commission, but they will not prevent me from advocating for what is just!” Hewlett said in a post with a picture of the letter from the mayor in the “Wasatch County Independent Politics” Facebook group. 

She said she’s “disappointed that personal grievances appear to overshadow our collective responsibilities towards our city” and that she’s apologized to Lee and the council for the confusion caused in the letter she distributed with someone else’s name, and feels like her side of the story hasn’t been heard.

Councilor Scott Phillips said he had originally wanted an agenda item to potentially remove Hewlett from the commission during the council’s last meeting.

“The mayor had said she wanted to request her resignation first and then remove her as a last resort,” he said. “There was never an official action by the council. The mayor just asked to postpone.”

He said he’s still seeing repercussions from the letter Hewlett sent out with Lee’s name in the form of upset people.

“Earlier in the year, we had a meeting where they were talking about the ethics of the council,” he said. “Well, this goes right along with that. I mean, it’s like a full affront against our ethics policy.”

Though he personally didn’t mention the reason Hewlett has been asked to resign or the specifics of the agenda item, Councilor Aaron Cheatwood said he’s disappointed Hewlett was quick to publicly share the letter she received from the mayor without providing much context.

If he did something that he felt made it impossible to regain public trust, he said he would step down.

“I can’t be in a recommending body role without the trust of my peers and without the trust of the public,” he said.

Commenters on Hewlett’s posts showing the mayor’s letter to her have been mixed in their reactions, some seeing the ultimatum as a consequence and others wondering if she was being asked to resign because of her disagreements with the council.

“I applaud your passion, but not the way you choose to express it,” Tammy Woodward commented. 

Before distributing her letter with Lee’s name on it, Hewlett sent it to him. Without reading it, he said “thank you.” After realizing that she’d taken that as approval, he quickly contacted her to say he was neutral on the issue it addressed.

“My hope is to continue serving our community, either in my current capacity or in another role where I can contribute positively,” Hewlett said. “My commitment to Heber City remains unwavering.”

The post Wasatch Council candidate asked to resign from Heber City Planning Commission over false letter appeared first on Park Record.

The Wasatch County Council in effect rolled the dice Wednesday on a $2 million investment in a land conservation easement.

The council voted voted 5-2 to approve $2 million toward purchasing the Lundin family’s easement after Deputy County Attorney Jon Woodard said that it could put the county in a legally vulnerable position. Councilors Kendall Crittenden and Spencer Park were the objectors.

Utah Open Lands Director Wendy Fisher explained the initial $2 million will allow the organization to seek federal sources.

The decision was made after a rather heated conversation between county officials and siblings Michael Lundin and Nora Lundin, in which the two and their attorney stated that if the county couldn’t go forward with the proposed agreement and contribute the $2 million, the conservation process likely wouldn’t work for their land, especially given they’d had to settle a different legal struggle with their brother to get as far as they had in the process.

Before the funding was granted, Woodard wanted the Lundins to settle another lawsuit they’re involved in, one filed in July by Robert Fuller against their farm, land and mobile home companies.

The legal complaint alleges that Fuller is entitled the right of first refusal to purchase the land, and that the conservation easement purchase triggers that right. 

Because the Lundins are selling conservation easements and not the land ownership itself, their lawyers argue the right of first refusal is not triggered.

When the council informed the Lundins that they wanted them to settle that matter before giving them the funding, they did not take the news with a smile.

Their attorney, Brandon Mark, said he needed to ask for an extension from the other side of the lawsuit between his clients and their brother, Ronny Lundin, to seek more time for the conservation agreement to be initiated.

“If this is a condition that is going to be imposed, then I can’t in good faith ask for that extension,” he said.

Nora called Fuller’s lawsuit a “naked attempt at getting money.”

She pointed out the case was going to court for possible dismissal in December, and she was adamant that if the county wanted the lawsuit to be settled before advancing funds for the conservation, she look for other uses for the land, as she still needs to pay Ronny.

“We’re going to call The Boyer Company and have them come up here and rape and pillage,” she said.

The Lundins and Mark also argued that due to the agreement’s collateral of 40 water shares they would offer the county if the land conservation deal was derailed, it was the family taking risks, not the county.

“They are not suing us to stop the conservation easement. They’re just suing us for damages,” Nora said about the Fuller lawsuit. “Worst possible case scenario, all they could get is that we have to pay them money. They’re not suing to stop the conservation easement.” 

In Fuller’s lawsuit, his attorneys ask for an “order of injunction compelling defendants to comply with the terms of the ROFR and allow plaintiff to purchase the property on the same terms as those for which the property has been marketed.” Or, “in lieu of injunctive relief, a judgment against the defendants for at least $8,500,000.”

It considers the price at “which the property has been marketed” as $6.5 million, which is a possible bargain price that has been considered by Utah Open Lands as a purchasing point for the land conservation easement that it estimated would be worth $7 million-10 million.

Nora also expressed frustration at the length and difficulty of trying to preserve the property so far. She said they’d worked to settle the lawsuit within their family only to find out they needed more release documents signed before local governments would work with them on the land conservation. They got those releases signed and then were sued by Fuller. That once again complicated things as the county and Midway City sought further measures to ensure the deal was secure. Meanwhile, she and others in the family continued to work full time knowing that conserving their family land would be much less profitable than developing it.

“We’re broke, we’re tired,” Nora said. 

“It’s really hard to hear somebody who’s trying to do so much good for this valley go through so much, but from a legal risk perspective to the county, nothing changes my analysis,” Woodard said. “The recommendations I’ve made, I think, are correct.”

Though he agreed the water share collateral allow some securities, Woodard said he believes “it’s subject to legal attack in various ways.”

“I think there’s enough on the table that we ought to take some risks,” Councilor Steve Farrell said. 

The Lundins are looking to conserve 119 acres of their property just west of Midway.

Fisher said they haven’t received an official appraisal value for the land, but they’re in the process and “have a good sense.”

“We do feel that it would substantiate a value that would mean that the county’s $2 million would not be more than 20% of the total purchase price of the conservation easement,” she said. 

The post Wasatch County Council spends $2 million on land conservation against attorney’s advice appeared first on Park Record.

A Utah land management administration, Wasatch County’s Christensen family and a real estate development/capital investment have all come together to ask Heber City to change their annexation plan to allow it to include around 4,200 acres between Red Ledges and Wolf Creek Ranch.

In the longer term, they’d like Heber City to complete the annexation and are looking to add thousands of residential units to the community.

Wasatch County councilors thought about what it could mean for the valley and wondered what kind they should tell Heber City leaders about the potential project during a Wednesday meeting.

“They asked for some feedback from us,” County Manager Dustin Grabau said.

The specifics of what the annexation could entail — infrastructure, roads, number of units — are yet to be fleshed out.

Heber City Manager Matt Brower attended to answer questions councilors tossed his way, and Councilor Steve Farrell wondered when the process could warrant a traffic study.

“It will need to have more detail than we currently have,” Grabau said. “For instance, the number of units has a very wide range.”

Somewhere in that range is where transportation issues begin, he added. Any added development in the region would strain the roads, Farrell said.

Brower specified that the detailed annexation discussions were yet to be had and that the 4,200 acres will not be guaranteed annexation even if the city succeeds in amending its annexation plan map. That will only mean the city will be able to consider the annexation.

“We have received no specific information regarding traffic, water, utilities,” Brower said. 

“A lot of time could be saved for a lot of people if the boundary change was denied,” Councilor Kendall Crittenden said.

The issue is further complicated, given that 720 of the acres in the possible annexation are managed by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, a state land trust body that aims to generate revenue from lands the state was granted not long after it was established and devote it to education.

No one in the meeting, including Wasatch County Deputy Attorney Jon Woodard, seemed sure whether the Trust Lands Administration is bound by the county’s current land codes on its 720 acres or not.

Wasatch County Planning Director Doug Smith said they seemed to need to go through Wasatch County as their primary land-use authority when they tried to rezone 10-15 years ago, but he wasn’t sure if things have since changed.

“I do know that during our discussions with SITLA regarding the development of property, that was brought up,” Woodard said. “When we said, ‘Well, if you’re going to do it, just do it,’ we stopped hearing from them, and instead they moved toward talking to Heber City apparently.”

He also informed the council that there’s case law from the Trust Lands Administration becoming involved in litigation surrounding development where local land-use authorities approved the projects.

In practicality, Grabau reasoned, infrastructure development will “necessitate some level of coordination.”

“What that means as far as our ability to exert land-use control is, I think, something that we would have to look at further,” he said.

Councilors ultimately decided not to send any letters to Heber City but instead opted to add the discussion to a joint meeting that will take place Nov. 13.

In September, developers told Heber City leaders of their hopes to create a community with emergency responders, open space and amenities if the annexation plan is amended and the annexation is passed.

Greg Whitehead with Philo Ventures — the company through which the Trust Lands Administration and Christensen family plan to develop their combined 4,200 acres — said they’ve determined 404 of the acres are suitable for housing.

“(SITLA) said to me they are not opposed to medium density, which they would define as 8-10 units per acre,” he said. “That’s probably as good as an answer as you get from them. They don’t really come right out and say anything, but that’s kind of where they’re thinking.”

That could mean 3,200-4,000 units, though Whitehead said he’s worked a plan he believes would bring less than 3,000 units to compromise between the Trust Lands Administration, the Christensens and the community’s desires.

The post Wasatch County leaders wary of potential Heber City annexation that could add up to 4,000 units appeared first on Park Record.

As the election approaches, Utah House District 59 constituents have a choice who to send to the Legislature: Republican incumbent Mike Kohler or Democratic challenger Julie Monahan.

And while the candidates’ participation in Heber Valley Chamber of Commerce’s debate on Oct. 17 showed the pair agree on several fronts, their methodology, approaches and outlooks differ.

One area where that was evident was in discussion about Utah Department of Transportation’s efforts to build a Heber Valley Corridor, a tense subject among several Heber Valley localities as several potential routes were presented ahead of an environmental impact study — before UDOT delayed the process and said updated traffic models had made those routes outdated. As cities, the county, developers and property owners hold their breaths, no one has given a specific timeline for the project.

“The fact that UDOT has drug their feet for years and years is making this a very difficult position,” Monahan said. “What I would like to see for the Heber Valley Corridor is, first of all, a comprehensive plan for transportation that will manage the growth and also prepare us for the Olympics.”

Transportation, she added, creates pollution and congestion that diminishes people’s quality of life.

“I think that we really need to look at a comprehensive plan that includes not just building roads but having public transit, active transportation, all of the different elements,” she said. “If I were in the legislature, I would provide the leadership to get UDOT at the table, the local officials at the table, and finally hammer this out. Because we do need an answer one way the another, wherever the bypass is going to be and what their studies show about traffic.”

Those studies, she said, should include public transportation considerations.

Kohler took a different perspective.

“I’ve been involved in that for almost 20 years. UDOT’s not the one that’s dragging their feet; it’s actually locals,” he said. “If we can get together, UDOT will bring the money, and we’ll get this done in the next five to 10 years.”

The last two or three times when the project’s come this close to fruition, he said, infighting from within different communities has pushed the project back.

“I think we’re on a very good course right now,” he said. “The path is pretty much picked and we should have an answer to that within a year.”

Last week, UDOT Executive Director Carlos Braceras visited Wasatch County Council amidst frustrations that the bypass had prevented a land conservation project from receiving federal funds.

His visit was just a week after UDOT officials spoke to Heber City, and, while city officials thanked them for coming, they hoped to keep the line of communication open.

On a similar note, Braceras said his department will work to share what they can with the county throughout the process. 

He said UDOT was working to construct a bypass in 1987 before “the community went nuts” as businesses on Heber City’s Main Street worried they would lose traffic. Now, he said, “it’s going to be painful.”

The post State House District 59 challenger wants to push for bypass; incumbent says it’s on track appeared first on Park Record.

A bunch of big wigs pulled up to Davanza’s last week with appetites and excitement.

They were Jeremy Ranch Elementary School students, and the trip was the hard-earned result of their fundraising efforts that brought the Jeremy Ranch Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization almost $50,000 this year.

Many of the little VIPs had earned at least $500, though a quarter of the participants were randomly selected to include kids who might not have the same resources to raise money.

“Parley’s, McPolin and Jeremy all do a fun run at the beginning of the year, and all of the proceeds go to support the Jeremy Ranch Elementary Parent Teacher Organization,” said Anna Wildman, who has been the group’s president for two years. “All of the money goes back into the school to support our teachers and our students.”

She said it provides the funding for things like the school’s Halloween festival, teacher grants, a spelling bee and a book fair.

“Giving students a stake in the game enables them to connect,” she said. “It’s really fun to see the kids get out in the community, obviously not only calling their friends and family, but when you see lemonade stands popping up in the neighborhood.”

This year, she said, some kids even constructed wooden birdhouses to sell to their neighbors.

“We have tons of really great ways that kids can raise money,” she said.

Utah’s state government consistently spends less than almost every other state on public education. According to Wildman, that relative lack of funding emphasizes the need for things like the fundraiser.

“The funds that we raise are so critical to being able to provide the cherry-on-top programs that our students and our faculty really need, whether that’s teacher appreciation or art programs or additional theater programs that we don’t normally have through our school,” Wildman said.

Students who didn’t hit the $500 mark could win other prizes for smaller contributions, things like stickers, custom Croc charms or, if they raised $300, a chance to pour slime on their principal, a spectacle that took place Tuesday.

And just like the Davanza’s trip, a quarter of the kids who participated in the gooey festivity were randomly selected.

“Our principal is such a great sport to put himself up there, to put on the snorkel mask and be willing to get slimed,” Wildman said about the event. “We’re so lucky that he’s willing to do that.”  

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