Page 12 - Flathead Beacon // 2.10.16

NEWS
Kalispell School District Considering New Property on North End Parcel o White sh Stage Road could be latest site for new elementary school
BY DILLON TABISH OF THE BEACON
Kalispell school o cials are consider- ing the addition of an elementary school on the north side of town along with two new sites on the southern end to address overcrowding and projected growth over the next 20 years.
Mark Flatau, Kalispell School District 5 superintendent, told a steering commit- tee on Wednesday that an informal dia- logue is underway with a landowner who expressed interest in selling 25 acres for a new school o White sh Stage Road. The landowner approached the district with the idea, Flatau said. The empty parcel is within city limits near Rose Crossing.
Flatau said a full report on the poten- tial site will be delivered to the school board on Feb. 23.
The potential additional property comes as school administrators and sta are in the midst of long-range planning e orts to address Kalispell’s crowded elementary classrooms. Kalispell’s ele- mentary school district hit its largest
enrollment on record this fall with 3,018 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, 521 more than 10 years ago.
Since last summer, planners have worked with a local steering group to solve the growing need for new space.
Flatau said the latest possibility is acquiring the land o White sh Stage Road and building an elementary school. At the same time, the district would also build an elementary school and middle school on the district’s 25-acre property along Airport Road on the south end of town.
“That’s where the discussions are at right now,” he said, emphasizing that the plans were very preliminary.
Voters would have to approve a bond measure giving the district funding to build any new schools. Previous esti- mates showed costs between $24 mil- lion and $50 million for new facilities and maintenance.
The original plan was solely focused on developing school facilities on the south property with several ideas oated
by planners, including an early education center for pre-school and kindergarten students.
Yet a problem emerged as plans were further reviewed, Flatau said. Building a new elementary school and early educa- tion center in south Kalispell would only clear up enough space in the city’s ele- mentary classes for 15 years before class- rooms were lled again. This forecast is based on a projected growth of 2 percent annually, which is consistent with recent population trends.
“It would be very short-sighted to go out for a bond and six or seven years later, ask for another bond,” Flatau said. “I think our community expects us to do better planning than that.”
Flatau said the district should con- sider utilizing the north property based on both need and opportunity.
“If I could’ve picked a site on the north end for a new school, that’s exactly where I would pick. It’s ideal,” he said.
Both north and south ends of Kalis- pell have experienced signi cant
residential growth in recent years with more expected in the near future.
The area along White sh Stage Road is already platted for a large residential development.
Four of Kalispell’s ve elementary schools are at least 60 years old, and almost every site is lled to capacity as enrollment keeps growing. Kalispell Middle School, with nearly 1,100 stu- dents, is the lone middle school in town and the largest in Montana. The city’s newest elementary school, Edgerton, was built in 1987 and had over 600 students this year.
Flatau said the idea of creating an early education center had merit but that it would create less exibility in terms of addressing the student population’s greatest needs.
“For that reason, we need to stay with K-5 model,” he said.
The next steering committee meeting is March 2 at the middle school, starting
at 6p.m.
dtabish@ atheadbeacon.com
Sen. Fielder Tabbed as Head of American Lands Council Nonpro t promotes transfer of federal land to state control
BY TRISTAN SCOTT OF THE BEACON
Montana state Sen. Jennifer Fielder has been tabbed to lead the nonpro t American Lands Council, a national organization spearheading the contro- versial e ort to transfer federal public lands to state control.
Fielder, a Republican lawmaker from Thompson Falls, replaces founding Amer- ican Lands Council president Ken Ivory, a Repubican lawmaker in the Utah House of Representatives. The Utah-based orga- nization has been coordinating e orts in several Western states to pass legislation
that would attempt to give the states more authority over federal land.
In a statement released by the Amer- ican Lands Council, Fielder said she accepted the added duties because the Montana Legislature does not convene this year and she feels better public land management is vital for her district, state “and the nation as a whole.”
“I love the outdoors and have been passionate about taking good care of our environment my whole life. Like most people, I want to see a balance that restores common sense in how our lands and resources are managed,” according
to the statement. “When local citizens and public o cials who know the ground best are given a real voice in land man- agement decisions, we tend to get bet- ter results. We all want a healthy envi- ronment, and safe, vibrant communi- ties with abundant outdoor recreation opportunities. Under federal control we are seeing just the opposite.”
Fielder, who chaired Montana’s study of federal land management in 2013, says the “top-down” management style in Washington, D.C., has adversely impacted the environment and people all over the West.
Fielder has emerged as an outspoken proponent of transferring land from the federal government to the states.
She said she believes Montana could do a better job of managing public lands while o ering more access. During the last legislative session, she introduced a bill to study the transfer of public lands but Gov. Steve Bullock vetoed it.
Critics of land transfers said its sup- porters were oversimplifying the issue, calling it a “reckless” and “radical” idea that could result in a loss of public access.
tscott@ atheadbeacon.com
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FEBRUARY 10, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM