Whitefish Central begins renovation project

Whitefish students moved into the first phase of the $10.2-million Central School renovation project Wednesday.

Principal Kim Anderson and his staff welcomed 650 fifth- through eighth-graders to a montage of new construction and original-school classrooms.

A sunlit, vaulted entry opens into two new pods of 22 classrooms on two levels, including spacious band/orchestra and vocal music rooms, in the newly created section that straddles the abandoned block of what was First Street.

An open spiral stairwell leads from the principal's office suite to the second floor.

Down a few steps to the south, six more classrooms are used in the existing building's basement. To the north, two sixth-grade classes and study hall meet on the second floor above the gym, and five more classes are in the ground-floor gym addition.

Fifth-grade classes are housed in the ground floor of the new construction - called Pod 1, where they will stay for the long term.

Sixth-grade classes will be more mobile.

When all construction is finished, sixth-graders will be in Pod 2 on the ground floor of the rebuilt construction, which fronts along Second Street.

Locating fifth- and sixth-graders on the ground floor makes sense, Anderson said, because of their multiple exits and entries for recess throughout the day.

For now, though, sixth-grade teachers are paired into adjoining classrooms throughout the school - two are on the ground floor of the Pod 1, two are in what's called the G Wing along the east end of the two gym floors, and two are on the second floor over the gyms. Also up on that second floor is a study hall room.

When construction is finished, seventh and eighth grades will move into the upper-floor rooms of Pod 3 and Pod 4, which will form the east half of the school.

For now, they occupy Pod 3 on the second floor of new construction, plus two rooms and the industrial tech shop in the G Wing, four rooms in the basement of the original school and two more on the original main floor immediately above that.

There's a computer lab on both new floors.

Special services, psychologist, speech therapist and custodial rooms fill the rest of the rooms.

Outside, construction crews are well into the task of laying a new foundation on the site of the historic school, which was demolished during the summer. It is scheduled to be finished in time for students to move in on May 5, 2006, giving them a chance to finish out the year in their new digs.

The third phase of construction, renovating the auditorium and a completely remodeling the basement level to accommodate the school district's administrative offices, will be tackled after that.

Expected completion there is October 2006.

A couple of glitches gave Anderson pause Tuesday as he prepared for students the next day.

The water piping was not given a clean bill of health until late Tuesday afternoon, after water-quality-testing results satisfied the city it was safe to turn on the water supply to the new construction.

And asphalt for the northeast parking lot was a long way from being laid down by Tuesday afternoon, as grading and compacting continued.

In the meantime, teachers will continue their practices of parking a block or two from the school and taking a healthy hike to work.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com.