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NEWS
Somers-Lakeside Survey Reveals Opposition to
Kalispell School Partnership
School board to decide whether to send middle school students to Kalispell
BY DILLON TABISH OF THE BEACON
A majority of people surveyed in the Somers-Lakeside school district is opposed to sending students to a poten- tial new middle school in Kalispell.
According to the results of a survey sent to district residents over the last month, 71 percent are against entering into an interlocal agreement with Kalis- pell School District 5. The deal would send an estimated 150-180 middle school students to a new facility planned on the south end of Kalispell.
Of those surveyed, 87 percent said they would rather support a construction bond to retro t Somers Middle School, which was built in the early 1950s and last upgraded in the 1990s.
A total of 229 people lled out the survey, according to Somers-Lakeside School Superintendent Paul Jenkins.
The school board plans to decide whether to sign the interlocal agreement at its meeting on May 25, Jenkins said.
“It’s a very, very di cult decision,” Jenkins said. “The board, to their credit, has stayed neutral. They’ve listened and they’re going to weigh every factor and every variable. They need to do what’s best for the students.”
Kalispell’s school district is in the nal stages of a yearlong process to address overcrowding and persistent growth by building three new elementary sites, including a new middle school, and upgrading the existing facilities. A plan- ning committee is slated to present its nal recommendations to the school board next month and a bond request is
likely to go out to voters in fall.
During the last 12 months, Kalispell
has discussed the agreement with the Somers-Lakeside district, which has an aging middle school in need of repairs and could help o set costs for Kalispell’s new facility.
At the heart of the decision is whether to send roughly 150 middle-school stu- dents — and approximately $1 million in state funding — to Kalispell. Fami- lies could bene t from a new school with more course o erings. But the agree- ment would e ectively close Somers Middle School, leaving the facility with an unknown fate while also impacting 16 teachers. School o cials have said the teachers could apply in Kalispell but there would not be any guaranteed posi- tions. Any teachers hired in Kalispell could also face a pay cut as they enter into a new district with a di erent pay structure.
Somers-Lakeside administrators would have to weigh whether they could a ord to keep the middle school facility open as an elementary site with the lost revenue from students going to Kalispell, Jenkins said.
Families would still be able to choose where to send their students but would have to pay a $350 annual tuition to attend Kalispell’s new middle school. The other nearby option would be Big- fork, which does not charge an out-of- district tuition.
Somers-Lakeside is likely to face impacts either way. The addition of a new school in south Kalispell could draw ele- mentary students from Lakeside. Even
“IT’S A VERY, VERY DIFFICULT DECISION... THE BOARD, TO THEIR CREDIT, HAS STAYED NEUTRAL. THEY’VE LISTENED AND THEY’RE GOING TO WEIGH EVERY FACTOR AND EVERY VARIABLE. THEY NEED TO DO WHAT’S BEST FOR THE STUDENTS.” PAUL JENKINS
without the interlocal agreement, some families may still send their students to the middle school in Kalispell, tak- ing state revenue with them. This would create an unknown nancial impact to Somers-Lakeside, which has histori- cally struggled to gain voter-approval for bonds or levies. Last year voters did approve a general fund mill levy worth $185,000 annually, the rst successful levy in the district since 2006.
Now the prospect of an agreement with Kalispell appears to have galva- nized support within the district to keep the current structure intact.
“Maybe this will motivate or inspire the community to save our schools and our programs,” Jenkins said. “We have some ne middle school programs down here and some ne teachers supporting them.”
dtabish@ atheadbeacon.com
CELEBRATING MOM AND DAD
Lillian Strash, left, and her sister Kaedyn cheer as their parents, Nathan and Stephanie Strash, enter with the class of 2016 during the commencement ceremony for Flathead Valley Community College. FVCC recognized 374 students for completing graduation requirements during the 2015-2016 academic year. Of those, 306 students earned associate degrees and
68 students earned
certi cates.
GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
MAY 25, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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