STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

A five-course gala dinner with live music and silent auction will help Stanley residents complete the final phase of a school expansion that will benefit the community and its businesses.

The A+ dining fundraiser at Mountain Village Resort will be held May 10. It will include braised bison short ribs, herb crusted wild salmon with beurre blanc, white cheddar and horseradish twice-baked potato, lemon pistachio cake and more.

Muzzie Braun, Dave Muscavage and Kenny Saunders will provide the music for the event, which begins with a social hour at 6 and dinner at 7.

Tickets are $175 per person, available by going to stanleycc.org and clicking on “Things to Do” and “Events in Stanley.” Donations also are being accepted at P.O. Box 41, Stanley, ID 83278.

The Stanley School Parents’ Association, a 501©3 organization, has been working with teachers to expand and remodel the Stanley School, which was built in 1978 and currently serves 24 students from kindergarten through 8th grade.

An addition completed in February included a new library for books which were previously housed in the boys’ shower room. That addition also included two new classrooms. One of those enabled the 6th through 8th grade class to get out of their portable classroom; the other now houses high school students.

“This will make a massive difference for local businesses and public services, as families can stay in the area when their kids get to high school age,” said Julie Rember, who has voluntarily written grants on behalf of the remodel.

The last piece of the project, which will be funded by the dinner, involves:

Installing windows in the existing classrooms and multipurpose room

Addind a handicap-accessible adult/teacher/visitors bathroom

Remodeling and expanding the school’s very small, dated break room/kitchen

Replacing the gym floor, which contains asbestos

Installing wall-mounted tables and benches, to make it easier to transition from lunchroom to gym use.

The Parents’ Association has raised $987,000 and the Challis School District has kicked in $756,000. The project needs $100,000 more to complete the final improvements.

“It’s been a major community effort, and it’s exciting to see so much progress being made,” said Rember. “Our school is the heart of our community. The teachers do a wonderful job and the Parents’ Association provides vital support. It would be great to see them get over the finish line.”