Governor Bullock Dedicates New Whitefish High School

WHITEFISH – Following a blitzkrieg tour of the new, state-of-the-art Whitefish High School, Gov. Steve Bullock on March 19 addressed faculty, students, and engineers of the $22.5 million construction project, calling it a bold statement about the role education plays in the community.

The dedication ceremony marked the completion of a project that began in 2012 when voters passed a $14 million bond request, culminating in a 130,000 square-foot construction-and-remodeling job that places the school at the fore of an educational movement integrating technology with learning.

“You were looking to the future and ultimately willing to invest in the future and how students learn,” Bullock said.

The Whitefish City Council also played a critical role in moving the project forward. In 2012, under the new leadership of Mayor John Muhlfeld, the council awarded $2.5 million of the city’s tax increment finance dollars, or TIF, toward construction and renovation of the badly outmoded Whitefish High School.

Although a slate of councilors was reluctant to recommend the use of TIF funds, and asked for additional time and information, Muhlfeld cast a tie-breaking vote that ultimately nudged the politicized issue forward.

“It is our collective responsibility to give our children the tools they need to be successful,” Muhlfeld said. “This project has been about building our community. We recognized then and we recognize now the importance education plays in supporting and growing our economy in Whitefish.”

Bullock, whose wife was born in Whitefish, where her father taught at the high school, said the personal connection made the dedication ceremony even more special, calling the community’s investment in education an investment in the future.

“There’s no doubt that the quality of public education really is the great equalizer in our society,” Bullock said.

Although a school is only as good as the faculty and staff inside of it, Bullock said the innovative new high school provides a venue to effectively learn.

“It’s not about the building, it’s about the people in the building. But our children cannot learn as effectively if they do not have an effective place to learn.”