The Park City School District welcomes students back to class on Wednesday, and teachers are already buzzing with excitement as they look ahead to the new academic year.

“Preschool has adopted a new curriculum, and I feel really inspired to grab hold of that and work with it and see how the kids respond to it,” said Jen Bramson, an early childhood paraeducator in the district. “I spent the summer working on professional excellence with the National Education Association, so that was also very inspiring, and I’m feeling motivated to come back, work with the kids and see their growth.”

Bramson has taught preschool-aged children in the Park City area for 20 years, 15 of which have been with the Park City School District. She said she’s proud to collaborate with fellow educators who work together to provide educational experiences and growth opportunities for the district’s youngest students.

“I love that it’s usually the first time in school and in our public school system,” Bramson said. “I get to help shape them and prepare them to go through the school district and set them up for success.”

Merrylin Pham, who runs the Parley’s Park Elementary School after school program, said she’s excited for students to return because enrollment for the program has increased, which gives her an opportunity to connect with and help more kids.

“I like that we have this freedom to curate cool little enrichment activities together, but we can also aid the teacher,” Pham said. “When a student is falling behind, we get to help the kids with that. If they’re behind in reading, it feels really good that we get to help them out before testing.”

The after school program is unique because it also gives students a chance to learn valuable life skills that aren’t necessarily taught in an academic classroom, like basic culinary tasks.

“A lot of kids here didn’t know how to cook, or their parents wouldn’t let them handle a pan, but with adult supervision, we can teach them that,” Pham said. “I want to teach them life skills, not just cooking. This year I want to start doing woodworking. We’re really hands-on.”

Learning how to play an instrument and participating in an ensemble also teaches students transferable life skills, and band director Zachary Giddings is excited to see what Park City’s fledgling musicians will accomplish over the next school year.

“There are so many life lessons that a kid gets from music that have nothing to do with music,” Giddings said. “It’s a fun way to learn how to be self-evaluative. It’s a fun way to learn how to strive for more, and I think it gets the kids excited about learning and coming to school. I think it’s the best way to show kids they can do more than they think they’re capable of.”

First-time teachers are gearing up for their inaugural week of classes, too, including Belle Malpede, who recently graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in kinesiology. Her role as a health and physical education instructor for middle school students is a full circle moment for Malpede because she attended and graduated from the Park City School District.

“I’m feeling pretty great, but I’m definitely nervous,” Malpede said. “There’s a lot of background stuff that I’m learning about that I had no idea existed as a student, so it’s like drinking through a firehose, but my co-teachers and the PE department have been absolutely amazing and so supportive and so wonderful in advocating for me and teaching me a ton of things.”

Teachers aren’t the only ones gearing up for students’ return, though, and Transportation Secretary Reyna Velazquez said her team of bus drivers is prepared to usher kids back to the school with open arms and a big smile.

“We are the first face that they see, and for a lot of them, we’re the first person they talk to in the morning,” Velazquez said. “We get to see their little cute smiles, and when they don’t have a smile, we get to talk to them. They’re just adorable and cute and helpful.”

Velazquez said the new year is also exciting for her because she’ll be in charge of training drivers and piloting a program allowing parents to see information about their child’s bus. Parents will be able to put their address into the program and pull up information about the bus number, the bus stop and expected pickup times.

“A lot of the parents are really excited and happy about that, and we’re also excited to see how that’s going to go,” Velazquez said.

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The Park City government issued an order prohibiting the Park City School District from continuing construction on its North 40 property after neighbors complained about unexpected work on the site.

A resident brought the issue to the municipality’s attention after observing construction activity on the property, which borders Lucky John Drive and the northern edge of the future Treasure Mountain Sports Complex, according to officials.

The school district’s athletic makeover, which involves work at the Treasure Mountain site in addition to Dozier Field, required a conditional use permit to begin construction. City officials said they assessed the activity on the North 40 fields and determined further review was needed “to ensure the work aligns” with the approved permits.

The city then issued a stop work order for the North 40 property on Thursday morning.

“The city and school district are working together to determine an appropriate path forward,” city officials said. “The order applies only to the North 40 field area, and approved work elsewhere on the site may continue.”

The Park City School District, in a statement to The Park Record, said the realignment of Dozier Field restricted available space for events like shot put, javelin and discus. District officials had tentatively proposed moving those events to the North 40 property, but contractors started construction work before the district could contact the city for permission or additional permits.

School officials said the district stopped “early preparatory marking work” after neighbors “made the district aware of the activity.”

“We’re actively coordinating with Park City Municipal, the Division of Environmental Response and Remediation and the Department of Environmental Quality to ensure full compliance,” the district said. “Since the proposed layout consists only of concrete throw circles and removable netting, with no permanent structures, we’re confirming whether any updates to our existing conditional use permit are necessary before proceeding.”

Construction of the new sports complex has already required state oversight following contractors’ decision to dump contaminated groundwater into Silver Creek on the east side of the property. It was the second reported environmental issue on the site, with the district having already received a non-compliance advisory related to asbestos abatement.

The site has since been dewatered, but contractors later discovered contaminated soil on the property. The soil was removed and transported to a landfill last month.

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The Park City School District has removed contaminated soil uncovered on the Treasure Mountain demolition site to comply with a local environmental covenant despite the Utah Department of Environmental Quality’s ruling that the material did not need to be treated as hazardous waste.

Colton Elliott, a spokesperson for the district, confirmed contractors began transporting soil piles to a landfill last week and completed the project on Wednesday afternoon.

“As outlined under state regulatory guidance and our approved site management protocols, any soil exceeding thresholds is required to be safely disposed of off-site,” Elliott said. “Throughout the removal process, the district continues to coordinate with the Utah Department of Environmental Quality to ensure all environmental and safety protocols are strictly followed, including ongoing dust mitigation and air quality monitoring.”

The Utah Department of Environmental Quality concluded a joint investigation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last month into whether the site qualified for a hazardous waste exemption under state and federal law.

Whether waste is legally classified as hazardous or non-hazardous is important because specialists may be needed to clean and dispose of hazardous materials depending on the level of toxicity. Waste classified as non-hazardous may still have contaminants, but at a low enough level that it may be disposed of in a traditional landfill.

The contaminated soil, which had elevated levels of arsenic and lead, was uncovered by contractors on the property when the district demolished the Treasure Mountain Junior High building to create room for its new sports complex.

Dave Noriega with the Department of Environmental Quality previously said that heightened levels of arsenic and lead are to be expected in a historic mining town like Park City and that the presence of those materials does not necessarily pose health concerns to the local community.

“Perimeter air monitoring has consistently shown lead and dust levels below (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) exposure limits, meaning airborne exposure has not been a risk,” Noriega said in April. “Because the contaminated soil is properly handled and contained under the site’s safety plans, immediate exposure risks to the public are mitigated.”

The district qualified for a Bevill exemption, meaning it did not need to treat the soil as hazardous waste. The exemption may be granted for a variety of reasons, but it is likely the school district qualified because of the town’s mining history, as the exemption was designed to make removing industrial and mining waste at its point of origin easier.

However, the Park City School District was still required to remove and transport the contaminated soil to a landfill because of a 2017 environmental covenant it entered with Summit County.

The covenant was created after the Environmental Protection Agency discovered contaminated soil on the Treasure Mountain campus in 2014, which led to a federal investigation and cleanup in 2016. The school district filed the environmental covenant with Summit County the following year “to mitigate the risk to the public health, safety and the environment.”

The agreement included a provision requiring the school district to remove any materials that fail to meet Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure thresholds, which is a chemical analysis to determine levels of toxicity.

The state’s determination allows the district to more easily dispose of the soil, but it does not mean the soil is not contaminated. The piles failed to meet the threshold outlined in the environmental covenant because of the heightened lead and arsenic levels, meaning the district must dispose of the material in a landfill instead of reburying it, as it has done in the past.

The Park City School District has not been fined for the contaminated soil, which Noriega previously said is reserved for “a significant violation, which has not occurred” in Park City.

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The parents of two students who reportedly faced racial discrimination while attending Ecker Hill Middle School and Treasure Mountain Junior High School are suing the Park City School District and former Superintendent Jill Gildea for allegedly failing to protect their children from bullying and harassment.

The lawsuit, filed in Third District Court last week, said the couple’s daughter experienced at least four “instances of harassment based on her race” while attending Ecker Hill Middle School from 2022 to 2024. Her older brother, who attended Ecker Hill and Treasure Mountain Junior High School, experienced at least 17 instances of harassment from 2020 to 2024, according to the lawsuit.

The complaint claimed the parents reported each incident to the school district, including the use of racial slurs and sexual comments. It also referred to a 2024 investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, which reported “77 documented incidents of students engaging in racially offensive conduct.”

The children named in last week’s filing were involved in the federal investigation, with the Office of Civil Rights specifically studying the family’s reports as part of its analysis, according to the lawsuit.

“(The Office of Civil Rights) found the accumulation of confirmed incidents of race-based harassment, antisemitic harassment and sexual harassment … created a hostile environment based on race, national origin and sex for specific students that limited their access to education,” the complaint said.

The federal report also declared the school district had not taken “effective steps to eliminate a hostile environment” because it failed to investigate all alleged incidents.

The family’s children suffered from anxiety and depression and were afraid of attending classes, according to the lawsuit. One child had to attend an inpatient treatment program to cope with the stress, and both require mental health support for ongoing anxiety.

The complaint said the children “have been damaged” because of the district’s “failures under the leadership of Jill Gildea.” The document alleged the district did not maintain records of student-to-student harassment, as federal law requires, and that employees were not trained on how to maintain or investigate reports of abuse or bullying.

“The behaviors outlined above constitute clear violations of both Title VI and Title IX, which require recipients of federal funds to maintain an environment free of discrimination, harassment and retaliatory practices,” the lawsuit said. “Additionally, Park City School District and Jill Gildea failed to take timely and appropriate corrective measures after these incidents were reported, which exacerbated the harm experienced.”

The document claimed Park City School District administrators and employees violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against the children “on the basis of race.” It said school officials had documentation and reports of “ongoing offensive racial misconduct,” but employees “exhibited deliberate indifference” to the family’s complaints.

“(Park City School District) and Superintendent Jill Gildea had the authority and ability to investigate and take meaningful corrective action to end or prevent future racial profiling and misconduct … but they failed to do so,” the lawsuit said. “PCSD, by its acts and omissions, created a racially hostile educational climate where offensive racial misconduct was tolerated and minimized.”

The district did not offer psychological resources, counseling or academic assistance to the children despite the family’s repeated reports of discrimination, the document said.

“PCSD has maintained policies … and training which allows, tolerates or tacitly condones racial discrimination against students, leading to the violation of protected constitutional rights,” the lawsuit continued.

The family is entitled to compensation because of the “emotional distress, fear, anxiety and trauma; lost future earnings and earning capacity; and expenses for past and future medical and psychological care,” the document claimed.

The complaint requested Third District Judge Patricia Kuendig award the family at least $300,000 in compensatory damages, as well as attorney fees and other costs to be determined at trial.

The school district declined to comment on the case, citing a policy prohibiting officials from remarking on ongoing litigation.

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The Park City School District is bolstering its elementary programs in the fall with four licensed art teachers and two new social workers, aiming to improve the arts experience and provide more support for struggling students.

The school board approved the additional positions last month as part of its budgeting process for the upcoming school year. Superintendent Lyndsay Huntsman said this week that the Park City Education Foundation has historically funded portions of the visual arts program, and the district wanted to shift the financial responsibility to its budget instead of the nonprofit’s.

“That was an effort to off-ramp some of the funding the Education Foundation has provided for us, essentially in perpetuity, which is not the goal,” Huntsman said. “They live and breathe to provide seed funding for us to innovate and enhance our student experience, not to fund things in perpetuity, so we’re able to free up some dollars for them to do more innovative programming.”

The district will retain its partnership with Kimball Art Center, but it is ending the parent-led volunteer art program at Jeremy Ranch Elementary School. Each of the district’s four elementary schools will instead have a licensed art instructor.

The elementary schools will also have designated social workers on campus. Previously, two social workers split their time between the four schools, which Huntsman said was ineffective if a student was in crisis because there was no guarantee a social worker would be in the building instead of across town at a different elementary school.

Now, the district’s six schools, including the middle and high schools, will have a full-time social worker stationed on campus daily.

The new positions are included in the district’s $79 million budget for next school year, which is $44 million lower than the budget approved for the 2025-26 school year. Business Administrator Randy Upton said the district has been able to lower its budget — and avoid a tax increase for the second year in a row — by repurposing funds when employees leave, or programs end.

“We’re continually scrubbing programs because maybe a previous person knew what that budget was for, but there’s not a need for it anymore,” Upton said. “We’ll be aggressive about expenditures, and we’re trying to be a little more conservative on revenues.”

Upton said the budget is also lower because multiple expenses over the past few years have been a one-time occurrence, such as the construction of the Treasure Mountain Sports Complex or the renovation of Dozier Field.

Huntsman said there were no cuts for next year, but the district has been combining or eliminating certain positions if an employee leaves or retires.

“It really is dependent on what that individual was doing,” she said. “As we’ve consolidated into six schools versus seven, we’re recognizing that people may be able to take on more because we’re streamlining our efforts across the six sites.”

Upton said the budget was built with an enrollment decline of 55 students in mind, which has been a trend in the Park City School District. He said the decline may affect the budget, but likely not until next year.

“The bulk of our funding for the new year is based on membership for the prior year,” Upton said. “We haven’t built in any growth as far as students are concerned.”

The state Legislature sets the base budget amount for districts, which then becomes a “moving target” as administrators work to adjust it according to enrollment, payroll costs and other factors, like contributions from the Park City Education Foundation. Upton said the budget is often revisited multiple times each year, with the board approving changes or minor shifts as more information becomes available.

Upton emphasized the district’s “valiant effort” to repurpose funds instead of raising property taxes, praising Huntsman and the rest of the administrative team for approaching the budget with a “strategic” mindset.

“For the taxpayer, for the parent who has a student in our district, you can sleep at night knowing we’re providing them a great education and being fiscal stewards because the fact is we haven’t raised taxes for two years, we’ve been able to give employees raises and we’re working on repurposing funds rather than just saying, ‘Give us more,’” Upton said.

Huntsman said investing in people is always the district’s priority because it gives students a better education.

“We’ve been really good about buying all the shiny new things because there’s always a shiny new thing in education, but that’s not what has the most impact on students,” she said. “The greatest impact is that relationship with a caring adult and the skills they’re acquiring when they’re in that classroom setting. We don’t need to go out and buy all these trinkets, so to speak, to educate our kids. What we need to do is build the capacity of the people we have to ensure the highest quality of education.”

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Mercy Housing and the YMCA of Northern Utah have proposed an affordable housing complex in Trailside designed specifically for Park City School District teachers and staff that would also include educational and childcare amenities for Summit County residents.

Rich West, CEO of the YMCA branch and a longtime resident of the Park City area, said his organization partnered with Mercy Housing on a project in the Salt Lake Valley. As the two companies worked together, he realized they could potentially address a portion of the housing affordability issue in Summit County through a specialized development focusing on educators.

“The YMCA has always been about nurturing the potential of all kids, promoting healthy living and fostering a sense of social responsibility,” West said. “We’re not just the gym and fitness center that most people think of.”

Mercy Housing is a national nonprofit dedicated to the creation of affordable housing. Its headquarters are in Denver, Colorado, and it has developed 25,000 affordable housing units across 342 properties since its inception in 1981.

“We like to work closely with the community and identify housing needs,” said Kuhl Brown, Mercy Housing’s regional vice president of real estate development. “We raise those funds. We build very high quality sustainable housing, and we’ve got housing with services for the particular residents we are housing, so if it’s senior, we do senior living housing. If it’s family focused, we do financial literacy and educational attainment.”

Brown said Mercy Housing typically offers rental units priced at least $300 to $500 below market rate. He pointed to an educator housing complex the nonprofit developed in Palo Alto, California, that provided units at a price between the 60% and 120% area median income marks.

The tentative proposal to the school board on Tuesday suggested building 100 to 200 apartment units and townhomes on the district’s 55-acre Trailside property, with one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom options. Brown emphasized that the leases for rental units run for 12 months, meaning the complex could not be used for nightly rentals or short-term leases.

Brown also said there is an opportunity for Mercy Housing to include options for homeownership through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity, although there are no formal agreements between the two nonprofits at this point.

Summit County residents, not just teachers, could apply to live in the complex, too, but a number of units would likely be reserved for Park City School District employees. Mercy Housing would also include an early childhood learning center on the first floor of the complex, which would provide childcare and educational services to families with young children.

Mercy Housing would be responsible for maintenance, upkeep and renovations of the building.

“What we’re asking for is the school district’s land, but we’re not asking for the school district to help pay for the capital or the operations of this,” West said.

West and the YMCA would be involved in the development through the creation of a regional YMCA hub, which would be built on the same property. The facility would offer all-ages programming, as well as summer camps and indoor practice fields for various sports.

However, West acknowledged that the Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District is working toward similar indoor sporting facilities on the Cline Dahle parcel in Jeremy Ranch and its Silver Creek Village property. He said it would be important for the YMCA to keep tabs on Basin Recreation’s plans to ensure the two organizations aren’t duplicating any services.

“It’s owned and operated by the YMCA, but the whole point of the YMCA is partnering with everyone in the community,” West said.

If the school district is interested in the project, West said the nonprofits would need to conduct a formal community-needs assessment, market research study and feasibility study before acquiring approval on a site plan and starting construction. He estimated it would take a year to complete the three studies and that the project would not be completed for another three to five years.

The school board seemed curious about the proposal, with President Meredith Reed expressing excitement about the idea of ownership opportunities for Park City educators in particular. However, the school board did not make an official decision regarding its interest level and instead agreed to further discussions with Mercy Housing and the YMCA in the future.

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The Utah Department of Environmental Quality says the Park City School District does not need to treat contaminated soil on the Treasure Mountain demolition site as hazardous waste, but a local agreement with the Summit County government will require the soil to be disposed of anyway.

The state agency, which safeguards air, land and water, sent a letter to the district’s environmental consultant on June 12 stating it concluded a joint investigation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding whether the site qualified for a hazardous waste exemption under state and federal law.

Whether waste is legally classified as hazardous or non-hazardous is important because specialists may be needed to clean and dispose of hazardous materials depending on its level of toxicity. Waste that is classified as non-hazardous may still have contaminants, but at a low enough level that they may be disposed of in a traditional landfill.

The contaminated soil, which had elevated levels of arsenic and lead, was uncovered by contractors on the property when the district demolished the Treasure Mountain Junior High building to create room for its new sports complex.

Dave Noriega with the Department of Environmental Quality previously told The Park Record that heightened levels of arsenic and lead are to be expected in a historic mining town like Park City and that the presence of those materials does not necessarily pose health concerns to the local community.

“Perimeter air monitoring has consistently shown lead and dust levels below (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) exposure limits, meaning airborne exposure has not been a risk,” Noriega said in April. “Because the contaminated soil is properly handled and contained under the site’s safety plans, immediate exposure risks to the public are mitigated.”

The letter said the district qualified for a Bevill exemption, meaning it does not need to treat the soil as hazardous waste, which often involves more extensive and costly cleanup efforts. The exemption may be granted for a variety of reasons, but it is likely that the Park City School District qualified because of the town’s mining history, as the exemption was designed to make removing industrial and mining waste at its point of origin easier.

However, the district still needs to remove and transport the contaminated soil to a landfill because of a 2017 environmental covenant it entered with Summit County.

The covenant was created after the Environmental Protection Agency first discovered contaminated soil on the Treasure Mountain Junior High School site in 2014, which led to a federal investigation and cleanup in 2016. The school district filed the environmental covenant with Summit County the following year “to mitigate the risk to the public health, safety and the environment.”

The agreement included a provision requiring the school district to remove any materials that fail to meet Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure thresholds, which is a chemical analysis to determine levels of toxicity.

The Department of Environmental Quality’s determination allows the district to more easily dispose of the soil, but it does not mean the soil is not contaminated. The piles still failed to meet the threshold outlined in the environmental covenant because of the heightened lead and arsenic levels, meaning the district will need to dispose of the material in a landfill instead of reburying it, as it has done in the past.

However, the Bevill exemption will allow the district to remove the soil without classifying it as hazardous materials. If the soil were hazardous, the district would need to take it to a specialized facility and handle it with more care. Without the hazardous designation, the district may take the soil to a permitted Class I, Class II or Class V landfill, which is a cheaper and less intensive process.

Three Mile Landfill in Summit County is a Class I landfill, but a county spokesperson said that doesn’t necessarily mean the landfill will accept the soil, adding that it will likely depend on the dirt’s level of contamination.

The Department of Environmental Quality requested the district obtain a “letter of acceptance” from the landfill before disposing of any materials, in addition to providing a schedule “for the expeditious removal of stockpiled soils.”

The Park City School District has not been fined for the contaminated soil, which Noriega previously said is reserved for “a significant violation, which has not occurred” in Park City.

The Park City School District released a statement about the Bevil exemption and safety measures for the Treasure Mountain site on Thursday afternoon. The district said it met with the state’s enviornmental response and remiadiation team on June 17 to discuss next steps and its awaiting a response.

District officials added:

“The safety of our community is a top priority. We continue to follow the guidance of the DEQ and EPA, with a hired environmental consultant onsite to ensure that all safety protocols are followed. Additionally, we’ve been closely monitoring air quality on a daily basis to ensure it remains within safe limits throughout this process. Also, it’s important to note that the exposed soil onsite consists of clean soil that we brought in, further emphasizing our commitment to maintaining a safe environment. Furthermore, while regulatory requirements only mandated that one specific soil stockpile be covered, we chose to cover the remaining piles as a proactive, best-practice measure out of an abundance of caution.”

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Park City High School seniors crossed the stage at Deer Valley Resort’s Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater in a one-of-a-kind graduation ceremony Friday night, collecting their diplomas and taking their first steps into adult life.

The 375 students in the Class of 2026 celebrated in a way only Parkites could, taking the ski lift to their graduation ceremony and sweeping through the amphitheater in a sea of red caps and gowns.

Principal Caleb Fine, who is finishing his first year as the high school’s head administrator, said 329 students, or approximately 88% of the graduating class, are pursuing higher education degrees in the fall. Specifically, the newly minted alumni will attend 109 colleges across 36 states and five countries.

“The world is going to tell you that life should be easy, especially when you look on social media or see the latest marketing campaign,” Fine told students shortly before they walked across the stage. “It’s probably going to tell you if it is not easy for you, you’re doing something wrong. I am here to tell you that life is hard, and it’s in the hard that life becomes beautiful. Today wouldn’t be so special if it were easy.”

Not every graduate will work toward a traditional four-year degree in the fall. Four students will enlist in the military, while another 36 will serve a two-year mission with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, take a gap year or join the workforce.

Fine praised the Class of 2026 for achieving academic excellence, with an average ACT score of 24.5, higher than the national average of 19.4. He estimated graduates had earned “thousands upon thousands” of college credits through Advanced Placement and concurrent enrollment classes.

He also mentioned 16 students named Sterling Scholars, a title bestowed upon Utah seniors to celebrate their achievements and commitment to education at the state level, in addition to cash scholarships.

In total, the Class of 2026 has collectively earned more than $7.3 million in scholarships.

Fine pointed out the students’ artistic and athletic achievements, too. Specifically, he said 34 senior athletes earned the academic all-state award, and the school received 11 regional championships and six state championships this year.

He also thanked graduates who participated in the school’s theater productions, including “9 to 5” and “The Crucible,” and gave a shoutout to musicians in the wind symphony, jazz band, orchestra and choir, all of which earned superior marks at a statewide competition.

Students weren’t the only ones celebrating the end of a long four years, though. Parents were thrilled to see their children accept their diplomas alongside their peers, friends and teammates, including Damon Bogan, whose son, Parker, crossed the stage on Friday night.

“It’s been great all the way around,” Bogan said. “Great teachers, and it’s a great town.”

Bogan said Parker has enjoyed the lifestyle Park City offers to its residents, saying he didn’t participate in any team sports but could often be found mountain biking around the area. The Wasatch Back was also a significant change for Parker, who previously spent eight years living in Costa Rica.

“He’s fluent in Spanish, so he’s got his honor cord, his teaching cord, and he’s got his bilingual seal,” Bogan said.

Parker is interested in archeology, but his dad said he plans to major in finance at the University of Utah, although he may take a little while to decide if finance is still his goal, based on how artificial intelligence changes the country’s culture and economics in the next few years.

Jaime Raffone said her son, Mason, is also heading to the University of Utah. He’s interested in 3D printing, skiing, fishing, video game design and architecture, which he plans to study in college.

“He likes the designing and building parts of it, so he likes to actually create something and see it become structurally sound,” Raffone said. “It’s been great, and we’ve really enjoyed the Park City School District. I have two kids in the district, and watching him grow up in a community that has made a positive impact on us has made us so happy that we moved here 15 years ago.”

Click here to view photos from the Class of 2026 commencement ceremony.

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Park City High School seniors are chipping away at their last few weeks of classes and homework assignments as they prepare to board the chairlifts at Deer Valley Resort on June 5 in what may be the school’s most unique graduation ceremony.

“I don’t think a lot of people realize how privileged we are to graduate at a really nice ski resort that people from all around the country fly in to visit,” said Elle Warburton, Class of 2026 president. “I think that’ll be really cool and different, and we’re probably the only class that’ll ever be able to do that.”

Warburton is one of many Student Council members who help plan and coordinate graduation activities in addition to prom, which is open to juniors and seniors. Student Council also works with the district’s elementary schools to facilitate the annual walkthrough of seniors’ alma maters, which is scheduled for June 4.

The Class of 2026 had a different planning process than students in previous years, though. Ongoing construction work on Dozier Field mandated the district shift graduation to another location — the Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater at Deer Valley — so students have had less discretion than normal.

But the Student Council has still been able to make an impact on the graduating class and administered a survey to seniors asking them to nominate their favorite teacher to read students’ names as they walk across the stage next month. Seniors overwhelmingly nominated Joanna Andres, a social studies teacher who was named the Utah Teacher of the Year, and Debra Alcox, a math teacher who is retiring at the end of the semester.

Grace Squibbs, a Student Council member and the senior vice president, said the Class of 2026 is special because it’s a tight-knit group, which makes their impending separation after graduation bittersweet.

“I’m still best friends with my two best friends from elementary school,” agreed JJ Eggleton, who handles public relations for the Student Council. “We’ve known everyone for so long. I think it’s the people in Park City that I am most grateful for and what I love most about this school.”

Warburton felt similarly, saying that she realized as she was writing her speech for graduation that she could name every student in the Class of 2026 and wouldn’t consider any of her fellow seniors a stranger.

“We’re nestled in the mountains, so it’s different, too,” Squibbs said. “We don’t really hang out with other schools, which can have pluses and minuses, but at the end of the day, it makes us really close with each other and even with our teachers.”

All three students said if they could give advice to incoming freshmen, it would be to get involved and eagerly participate in events, even if it seems cheesy. They said that whether it’s playing a sport, being on Student Council, joining a club or another extracurricular activity, it’s important to find and foster a connection to the school community.

“It’s what you make of it,” Eggleton said. “It’s not about what you do or if you’re the best or if you’re in the most clubs.”

Squibbs agreed with Eggleton and said the hardest part of getting involved is showing up.

“Participating in spirit days, coming to Make-a-Wish events, coming to the movie nights we host, it takes a lot of work on our part, and I do think the hardest part about doing it is getting there,” she said. “Once you’re there, anyone who comes has so much fun. I really encourage people to bring a friend, don’t think they’re too cool, show up in a crazy outfit and have fun.”

Park City High School’s graduation is scheduled for 5 p.m. on June 5.

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U.S. News & World Report released its annual list ranking the best high schools in Utah, and a familiar name managed to crack the top five — Park City High School.

“Park City is an incredible school district because, first and foremost, we have a great community,” said Park City High School Principal Caleb Fine. “It really is a celebration of the community, the teachers’ work and the kids. Last year, we continued to produce good data, and that resulted in a positive ranking this year, but we want to be No. 1.”

Fine said the success of Park City High School, which placed fifth out of 163, should be attributed to teachers and administrators in the building, but it should also be shared with district employees at the elementary and middle school levels. He praised former high school Principal Roger Arbabi because the data analyzed for the report was from the 2024-25 school year.

“The high school cannot be this highly rated without a great foundation, and these students come in with a great foundation,” Fine said. “Our school is then able to take them over the top.”

U.S. News & World Report gave Park City High School a score of 94.92 based on the number of students who took an AP exam, passed an AP exam, graduated and achieved proficiency in three core subjects: mathematics, reading and science.

Only one public school — Skyline High School in Millcreek — ranked above Park City High School in third place. The other schools in the top five — Beehive Science & Technology Academy in Sandy, the Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy in Lindon and InTech Collegiate High School in Logan — are all charter schools.

“We were really proud of (the ranking) initially, but let’s be No. 4 or even No. 1 next year,” Fine said. “Let’s keep moving up because this school can do that.”

Fine said Park City High School is unique because of the specialized programming it offers, like aviation and drone classes, despite its relatively small student population. He said the district’s success starts with the school board’s financial management and the community’s willingness to prioritize education through their tax dollars and other contributions.

“It’s the community, it’s the school board and it’s leadership,” Fine said. “Year over year, we’re continuing to work on it and chipping away and making progress. It gets us to a place now where we are elite in what we can offer and what we provide our students.”

Having a high performing school in the community is also a long-term benefit for Park City because students are more educated, which means they’re likely to obtain higher paying jobs and contribute to the local economy, Fine said.

“This is a great ranking, and we’re proud of it, but until every single kid is in a place where they’re saying, ‘I’m happy, I’m flourishing, I’m prepared for the world and my test scores show that I’m proficient,’ then we’re not done,” he said. “That’s a lofty goal, so we’re probably never going to be done, but … we’re only satisfied when every kid knows they’re loved, cared for and they’re confident in their test scores, opening up the door for their future.”

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