To offer a full-day option, the district would need to collaborate with area organizations such as the Blaine County Recreation District, the Wood River Community YMCA and education-oriented entities Far + Wise and the Wood River Valley Early Learning Collaborative.

During the February work session, district Superintendent Jim Foudy presented a vision of consolidating staffing and programming at the Community Campus, while Carey would continue to operate autonomously due to its more isolated location.

At the time, Foudy said he intended to return to the March board meeting with cost estimates for infrastructure improvements to the Community Campus as well as a request to begin the process of working with an architectural firm.

During the March 11 meeting, Foudy said he could “hazard a guess” that the cost of a Community Campus remodel could be in the neighborhood of $500,000 to $750,000, including running plumbing into six to eight classrooms.

However, he said, the idea surfaced of using Hailey Elementary instead. Apart from a minor remodel, he said, infrastructure costs there would be about $10,000.

“It was, frankly, new information for us,” he said in an interview with the Express. “I think it was Jason Leforgee, the assistant principal at Hemingway, after the Feb. 11 work session, said, ‘Hey, have you considered Hailey Elementary?’”

Foudy said there’s “plenty of space” at the elementary school.

“It wouldn’t require a remodel, and at some point, in the next five years, we’re looking at a solution for that campus anyway, and it’s a lot easier to build into the design for a new school an early childhood development center than it is to remodel something.”

According to a proposal provided at the meeting, the proposed start for either option would be fall 2026.

Foudy said he anticipated a “midpoint check-in” with the school board in October and an “information presentation” in December, with registration for the fall 2026 start by February of next year.

“In the next 12 months, it’s all about communication and coordination of logistics,” Foudy told the Express following the March 11 meeting. “We need to identify community partners to support the other half of the day. We need to work with our preschool staff on the plan. And we need to figure out transportation.”

Foudy said the early childhood calendar would be consistent with the K-12 calendar.

“We do recognize that families also have a need for [year-round] child care, but that would be completely up to the community partners if they are able to—in terms of staffing—and willing to keep it going during the summer,” he said.