The Natrona County school board has given direction to district staff members to ask the Wyoming School Facilities Commission to simultaneously fund a new high school and major renovations to both Kelly Walsh and Natrona County high schools.

If the commission can not fund the projects simultaneously, the board has directed staff members to ask for funding for the renovations, and to put a new high school on hold.

In a board retreat on Thursday, trustees spent more than four hours debating which projects should take priority for construction, given a tightening economy and the need to repair existing buildings.

"I think the public strongly wants Kelly Walsh and Natrona County to be renovated," said trustee Rita Walsh. "They want us to keep our current buildings in good shape."

Trustees agreed to push forward with the district's space/grade configuration plan, which separates students K-5, 6-8 and 9-12. There are currently 475 ninth-graders still at the middle school level.

Renovations for the current high schools or a new building would be necessary to fulfill those requirements.

The district's superintendent of facilities and technology Mark Antrim estimated it would cost between $90 and $100 million to complete a new high school and the renovations.

The commission will submit a $300 million budget for the 2010 biennium, of which an estimated $100 million will be available for capital construction.

District officials are planning to meet with the commission sometime in August to review their plans. The deadline for submitting requests for funding to the commission is September 1.

"We better have our ducks in a row…if we want part of that $100 million," superintendent Joel Dvorak said. "We cannot continue to be in this state of flux."

At point during the meeting, board chairman Steve Degenfelder managed to sum up the struggle trustees faced in deciding how to direct staff members.

"Are you making a decision based on good educational outcomes, or are you making a decision on how to get the money the quickest?" he asked.

Reach education reporter Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at jasa.santos@trib.com. Read her education blog at tribtown.trib.com/JasaSantos/blog.