Page 5 - Flathead Beacon // 10.1.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM
NEWS
OCTOBER 1 , 2014 | 5
W•O•R•D•S of the Week
AN INDEX OF RECENT NEWSMAKERS
HOLDER
Eric Holder, the U.S. attorney general, is stepping down after six years. Holder’s tenure was tumultuous as the country’s top law enforcement official waded through the economic recession, dealt with captured terrorism suspects and faced other con- tentious issues, including racial fairness.
ELECTIONS
Election Day is still a month away but mail-in ballots are arriving Oct. 6, marking the arrival of the 2014 General Election. Residents have plenty of voting options this year that hold local, state and national relevance.
HEAT
It’s been a hot start to fall so far. Last week several cities across the state broke records for high temperatures. Maximum tem- peratures of 85 to 92 degrees were recorded in Helena, Mis- soula, Kalispell, Butte and some Canadian border counties.
PUBLIC LANDS
As the debate rages over manag- ing public lands, a rally featuring nearly 300 hunters and anglers from across the state was held in Helena last weekend. Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester criticized efforts at the federal level to transfer federal lands to make up for budget shortfalls, saying that selling those lands to the highest bidder is the agenda behind the proposed transfer.
Record Enrollment Leads Kalispell Schools to Seek Available Property
Elementary school district looking to acquire 25-acre section of land in south Kalispell for potential school sites
BFy DILLON TABISH of the Beacon
aced with an ongoing influx of
young students in Kalispell’s classrooms, school administra- tors are asking voters for permis-
sion to acquire a 25-acre parcel of land off Airport Road for the likely development of a future facility.
On the ballot in this year’s general election is a request from the Kalispell Elementary School District No. 5 to use funds that have been accruing in a sav- ings account to purchase property on the south end of town, an area with increasing student population but without adequate school space.
The request will not have a direct im- pact on residents’ property taxes by rais- ing the number of mills. State law requires schools gain local permission before tap- ping into district funds for purchasing property.
“We’ve been saving for this and we have reserve funds for these purposes,” first-year school superintendent Mark Flatau said. “We’ll pay for it all. There will not be any impact on taxpayers for the purchase of the property.”
Administrators and the board of trust- ees have not yet decided what the property would be used for exactly, but Flatau said it’s within reason that a future elementary school and/or middle school could be de-
veloped on the wide-open property. Overall enrollment in the elementary district this fall has already surpassed last year’s record amount. There are 2,031 students in kindergarten through fifth grade in Kalispell, 71 more than last year, according to the latest school enrollment
data.
The five schools in the district are all
approaching capacity or already there. Edgerton has 612 students; Elrod has 305; Hedges has 395; Peterson has 433; and Russell has 272. Only one school — Edger- ton — has available space for any late-reg- istered kindergarten students, Flatau said.
See Schools PAGE 26
Tereza Hanson helps Hadley Dennison with an assignment
in a super-sized third grade class at Peterson Elementary School. The class has two teachers and 36 students.
GREG LINDSTROM FLATHEAD BEACON
Announcing...
NEW TASTING ROOM HOURS
Beginning Oct 5th we’ll be closed on Sundays and open Monday - Saturday, noon to 8pm.
GROWLER WEDNESDAY SPECIAL!
Free Beer with Growler Fill on Wednesday