ROCK SPRINGS – While Sweetwater County School District No. 1 said goodbye to one of its own, they looked to possibly add something new to one of its schools.

As community members and employees entered the board room Monday night, Jack Adams stood out as he always did due to his height. He greeted people as they enjoyed cake and punch and wished him well in his next step in life, retirement.

Adams put down his calculator after 20 years as the Director of Finances for the district. He was for many years, including the last several years, tasked with making money stretch in order to continue services. He consistently provided clean audits for the district year after year.

Adams told SweetwaterNOW that while he was excited to take the next step, he also had some mixed emotions.

“The thing I will miss the most about working with the district is the interactions I had on a daily basis,” Adams said. “The employees, the teachers and staff, the board, they have been super to work with.”

During public comment Bob Wallendorff spoke to the room about little Jackie Adams.

“Jackie Adams was the only real all-American basketball player we have had here,” Wallendorff said as he recalled a story about getting a new suit for basketball and Adams picking him up and throwing him in the shower.

“He is a real great guy and we have been really fortunate to have him working for the community all these years.”

A Third Academy?

During a presentation of the two current career academies at Rock Springs High School, Principal Darrin Peppard discussed with the board the possibility of adding a third academy to the roster next school year.

To go along with the energy and the health academy, Peppard proposed a law and public safety academy. He explained to the board he would want to run the new one the same as the two current academies including community partnerships and job shadowing.

Not only would keeping them the same be a priority, but Peppard explained that with some of the electives available with the academy they would have to partner with Western Wyoming Community College. These electives would be criminal justice, psychology, criminal psychology, business law and other similar classes.

Peppard also explained it would bring more local partnerships into the education system. The timeline for the new academy would include a tour for the board and administrators of the current academies in the next month. Recruitment for the new program would begin in January in conjunction with recruitment for the current academies. And finally, the new academy would start at the beginning of the next school year.

Board member Lenny Hay had the only question for Peppard.  He asked how many students are currently allowed in the academies. Peppard said they have it capped at 54 students in two sessions. He said because the students go to the same classes, they do not want too many students. He also said they do not want to flood the community with students who are involved in the job shadowing positions.