Page 11 - Flathead Beacon // 6.3.15

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS
JUNE 3, 2015 | 11
Bigfork School Board Approves Bond Request for High School Renovation
Voters in October will decide whether to ap- prove $14 million bond for significant makeover of 50-year-old building
By DILLON TABISH of the Beacon
The Bigfork school board on May 27 unanimously approved a bond request for $14 million to redevelop the high school, setting the stage for voters this fall to decide whether to grant a signifi- cant makeover of a 50-year-old building and campus that is already out of space amid rising enrollment.
Voters in Bigfork High School Dis- trict #38, which encompasses the un- incorporated county communities be- tween Creston and Condon, will settle the referendum through mail-in ballots. Ballots will be sent in September and are due back by Oct. 9.
If voters approve the bond, proper- ty taxes for a home valued at $200,000 would increase by roughly $70 annually, according to school district estimates.
School administrators and board members have already tried and failed to gain voter approval for renovating the high school twice in the last decade.
Now, as district-wide enrollment continues to increase and more class- es are shuffled into the middle school building, administrators say the high school is in dire need of redevelopment.
An independent site assessment last year found structural issues and grow- ing needs throughout the campus, in- cluding more classroom space.
“The current building’s last ma- jor update was in the 1960’s and al- though we are doing well academi- cally we certainly need to update the space,” Bigfork Schools Superintendent Matt Jensen said.
Planners with CTA Architects En- gineers said the multi-year renova- tion could improve existing space and build new additions to the site over the next three years.
If approved, the renovation proj- ect would progress in priority phases. The school’s priorities would be add- ing new classroom space to ensure all high school students would be taking classes in the high school instead of the middle school.
CTA’s plans showed the addition of eight new classrooms, two of which would come from reconfiguring the li- brary on the second floor. The current library would be moved downstairs to a new section of school near the gym. The gymnasium would be expanded with new lockers and bathrooms on the north end and modified. The current gym is already in need of a new roof and floor and the locker rooms are inadequate, ac- cording to administrators.
The wood and auto shop would be renovated and upgraded to modern safety standards. The science labora- tory and facilities would similarly be up- dated. Special Education classes, which are currently conducted in a closet space, would be provided an adequate classroom area. Also, the parking lot area around the high school and middle school would be reconfigured and pos- sibly expanded to improve circulation, parking and safety issues.
An estimated 24,000 square feet of new space would be built onto
the existing building, according to the project plan.
The construction costs are esti- mated at $9.3 million. Site develop- ment costs are estimated at $1.1 mil- lion. Another $1.4 million would go toward overall project needs, such as fees, permits, surveying and materials testing in the old facility. Administra- tors recommended a 20 percent con- tingency fund in case there are any cost overruns,andthetargetedcontingency amount is $2 million.
The total estimated cost would be $13.8 million.
If approved, the construction could begin in the spring of 2016 and complet- ed by fall 2018.
Nearly seven years ago, the school district failed twice in five months to pass a bond for similar high school ren- ovations. The district proposed an $11.1 million bond for the high school and a $5.5 million bond for the middle school. Barely 52 percent of eligible voters re- sponded in October 2007, passing the middle school bond but narrowly re- jecting the high school request. The fi- nal vote for the high school funds was 1,249 for and 1,333 against, a differ- ence of 84 votes.
Five months later, administrators gave it another shot with their second request, but this time the answer was more resounding. A total of 1,458 vot- ers rejected the bond request while 1,209 supported it.
Enrollment in Bigfork has now risen for five straight years after seeing a con- sistent drop a decade ago. Projections show the district’s enrollment could hit 1,123 students within 10 years, accord- ing to a CTA report.
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Bigfork High School.
GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
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