Page 16 - Flathead Beacon // 5.11.16

NEWS
SCHOOLS
Kalispell Planning Group Supports School Bond Elections in Fall Steering committee to recommend elementary, high school bond votes in same election
BY DILLON TABISH OF THE BEACON
Voters in Kalispell and the surrounding area could decide on two bond requests this fall for three new ele- mentary sites and upgrades to both high schools and the agriculture education center.
A planning committee that has focused on facil- ity needs for the past 11 months is recommending the Kalispell Public Schools board of trustees oat both bond requests in the same election this fall.
The group is recommending a $62.39 million bond for the elementary district to build two new elemen- tary schools and a middle school while also addressing deferred maintenance and other needs in the six exist- ing sites. Under these expansions and renovations, the district would not reach maximum capacity until 2035, according to estimates by L’Heureux Page Werner, a rm helping the district study long-term facility needs.
For a 20-year bond, property taxes in the elemen- tary district, which encompasses Kalispell city limits, would increase an estimated $236 annually, or roughly $20 a month, for a home valued at $170,000, according to school o cials.
The group is also recommending a $26.71 million bond for the high school district, which includes Kalis- pell and 13 surrounding districts. The bond would cover a variety of tentative options: $18.19 million in upgrades and additions at Flathead High School; $4.64 million for renovations and upgrades at the Agriculture Edu- cation Center; $3.44 million for renovations at Lind- erman Education Center; $1 million to buy lots around
FHS to add parking; $707,500 to rebuild the eld at Leg- ends Stadium; and $426,900 for deferred maintenance at Glacier High School.
For a 20-year bond, property taxes for a home val- ued at $170,000 would increase by an estimated $44.64 annually, or roughly $3.72 a month.
All together, the bond requests would be the larg- est in Kalispell history and similar to other commu- nities, such as Missoula, where population growth is driving school expansions. Missoula voters last winter approved two school bonds totaling $158 million.
The Kalispell group will present its nal recommen- dations to the school board in June. The group will also lead a public tour on June 1 at Flathead High School explaining the various needs.
“To me it makes sense to show these are the needs. We’re giving the voters the full picture,” Flathead Prin- cipal Peter Fusaro said, expressing support for both bond votes in the same election. “I feel like if you go with the elementary bond rst, then the high schools keep getting put on the backburner.”
School planners and administrators say the elemen- tary district is in desperate need of new facilities to address a swelling student population that hit a record 3,018 kids this fall. Kalispell Middle School, with nearly 1,100 students, is the lone middle school in town and the largest in Montana.
If the bond were approved, the district would rst build the elementary school on Airport Road starting in April 2017 with a tentative completion date of August 2018. The adjacent middle school on Airport Road
would be built starting in August 2017 with a planned completion of February 2019. A new elementary school on the north end of Kalispell would tentatively be built starting in spring of 2020; the district remains in nego- tiations for property, according to o cials.
The community in the Somers-Lakeside district is still deciding whether it would send an estimated 160- 180 middle school students to the new site in south Kalispell if it were built. The district would provide roughly $1 million in state funding to Kalispell for those students.
Administrators plan to hold a community meeting in Somers in the coming weeks to decide on the matter. Members of the planning group decided to hold both bond elections on the same date despite some lingering
concerns that one could negatively a ect the other. Historically, voters have been more hesitant to fund new levies and bonds in the high school district, which is much larger than the elementary district and includes
the outlying communities around Kalispell.
Some members of the steering group said the upgrades to the Ag-Center could in uence the outlying rural communities. The bond would fund new space for welding and science labs, as well as additions to the vet- erinarian sciences program. The additions could allow the agriculture center to accommodate roughly 75 more students, from 175 to 250, according to administrators. “I personally think the improvements to this facil- ity would have a lot of appeal to our partner districts,”
Kalispell Superintendent Mark Flatau said.
dtabish@ atheadbeacon.com
White sh Voters Reject School Levy Requests White sh, Marion fall short in levy bids for school upgrades; Creston, Libby voters approve levy
BY DILLON TABISH & JUSTIN FRANZ
White sh voters rejected a pair of levy requests to address maintenance needs at the elementary and high schools while voters in Creston approved a $75,000 levy request for school upgrades. Mar- ion voters also rebu ed a levy request for $48,064 annually for operational costs, 107 against and 101 in favor.
According to the White sh school district, 838 people voted against the proposed building reserve levy for the elementary school and 811 were in favor. For the high school, 982 people voted against the proposed levy and 754 were in favor. Voting ended May 3.
“We are fortunate to live in a sup- portive community. As a school district it is our responsibility is to let the voters know what we need for our schools and our voters have the opportunity to let us know what they can support,” Superin- tendent Heather Davis Schmidt told the Beacon after Tuesday’s election results came in. “We will continue to receive TIF funds from the City of White sh that will allow us to provide for many of the needs of our school buildings for the time being
16
Computer technology instructor Gary Carmichael helps students with coding project at Muldown Elementary School. GREG BEACON FILE PHOTO
Property taxes will increase $16.65 annu- ally on a home with an assessed value of $200,000.
In Columbia Falls, voters re-elected Larry Wilson and tabbed EJ Hoerner to the school board of trustees for three- year terms in the combined elementary and high school district.
In Kalispell, voters re-elected incum- bents Mary Tepas and Anna Marie Bailey for three-year terms on the school board, according to the district. Frank Miller was re-elected to a two-year term on the board.
In Evergreen, voters elected Tamara Williams and Dave Lowitz to the school board of trustees for three-year terms.
In Smith Valley, voters re-elected incumbent Doni Bennett to the school board and also tabbed Jerril Ren.
Libby residents approved a school building reserve levy by just 48 votes. The levy will raise $4.1 million over the next ve years to help fund repairs on the district’s six buildings. This is the rst school levy to be passed in Libby in 14 years. The levy passed with 953 peo- ple voting in favor and 905 voting against.
news@ atheadbeacon.com
and we will work to more e ectively com- municate our needs to the community in a future levy request. We thank everyone who voted in our school election.”
of a levy request while 80 were against, according to the school district. Cres- ton School District was seeking $15,000 annually for ve years, or $75,000, to renovate and maintain its facilities.
In Creston, 107 people voted in favor
MAY 11, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM