The teacher's lounge at Park Elementary couldn't escape the shuffling of rooms the school did to accommodate its bursting seams. It now also serves a workroom; its only furniture a couple of chairs and a table, said Doris Waddell, principal of Park Elementary.

"There's no lounging that can take place in there," Waddell said.

The school simply needs more space for its 308 students in kindergarten through 6th grade. Students go to portable classrooms outside the building for music, computer time and gifted and talented programs. The school also needs an up-to-date building that can accommodate today's technology without breaking the bank.

Park Elementary is just one of the construction projects the Natrona County School District is tackling. Construction of Poison Spider and Cottonwood elementaries is on track, and the new Ft. Caspar Academy should open in fall 2008.

Park School's current two-acre site doesn't meet the state recommended eight acres for elementary buildings. The site was granted an exception, so a new school could be built on four acres, said Dennis Bay, facilities planning and construction manager for the district.

But the land needed for a new building, a parcel just north of the school, is still tied up in trust.

The land was donated to the city by former Wyoming Gov. J.M. Carey. He donated the land on two conditions: one, city hall had to be located there, and two, the unused land should become a park. The school is comprised of two buildings - one that was built in 1956, and another section that was built in 1979. Portables are used for classrooms that have been added since the school was extensively expanded, which occurred more than 25 years ago. The school is in the heart of downtown, and is situated close to a drug-rehabilitation facility.

It might be easier to build a new school elsewhere, but Waddell said parents pushed for Park to stay near its current location on 9th Street. The school is a popular pick for parents, because of its proximity to the downtown area.

"They made a really strong plea to the district," Waddell said.

Bay said the school district is still negotiating with the Carey Family Trust to have the much needed land reverted to city control.

Should the Carey family give the city control of the land, the school district would then have to negotiate with the city to use the land, Bay said. But a resolution isn't far off, he added.

"They have been very good," Bay said of the negotiations. "And they are continuing to progress."

Reach Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@casperstartribune.net.