A local middle schooler has a message for the community, and especially for the Uintah School Board: Please keep Uintah Middle School open as the right thing for those who will be most affected, the students. Harper Hacking is a current Uintah Middle School 7th grader serving on the UMS Student Council and she has requested the opportunity to be interviewed by Evans Family Media regarding the potential closure study for UMS currently underway. As a result, she has been invited to share her message in the Evans Family Media studios next week. In the meantime, the following is part of what Harper hopes all will consider: “Our school has been put under a 90-day study, and could possibly close at the end of the school year of 2026-2027. I am here to change that. What has been presented to our community by the school board is declining enrollment, financial liability, and aging brick. We are middle schoolers. We are already going through the most volatile, vulnerable transition of our lives, trying to figure out who we are in a world that is already terrifying. Pushing us into a massive, merged environment is a direct threat to our mental health, our safety, and our future. If a student spirals because they feel completely invisible, that is a cost no budget can cover.” Uintah School District has information on the Uintah Middle School Closure Study and timeline on uintah.net/o/usd/page/ums-closure-study. Two official opportunities to make public comment are happening this month, first on November 11th during the school board meeting at Eagle View Elementary and then on November 18th during a public hearing at Uintah Middle School.
If you want to help Harper with her cause:
Harper shared her prepared comments with the Uintah School Board at their last meeting and invites all to join her in sharing more feedback with the school board in person at both opportunities this month.
Use the link below to fill out Harper’s ‘Save Uintah Middle School - Community Voices’ Survey. Share your story and help save Uintah Middle School.
Use the QR Code to sign her petition on change.org
‘Save Uintah Middle School - Community Voices’ Survey
Sign The Petition On Change . Org