Bigfork ballots due on Tuesday

KRISTI ALBERTSON/Daily Inter Lake

Voters have just a few more days to cast their ballots in the Bigfork School District's bond election.

All ballots are due at the district office by 8 p.m. Tuesday. Polls will not be open that day; voters must use the ballots they received in the mail.

Voters who intend to mail their ballots should remember Monday is a federal holiday, and the post office will not be open. Ballots postmarked Tuesday but received later than Tuesday night will not count.

Residents also may hand-deliver their ballots to the district office.

Registered voters who have not received their ballots should contact District Clerk Eda Taylor in the district office.

The district is requesting $16.6 million in bonds to renovate its elementary and high school buildings. The existing facilities are outdated, crowded and inefficient, according to school officials.

The district is running an $11.1 million high school bond, which would be repaid over the next 15 years. The elementary district is running a $5.5 million, 15-year bond.

If approved, the bonds would raise annual property taxes by about $250 for a home with an assessed market value of $200,000. A home with an assessed value of $300,000 would have a $375 annual tax increase.

At the high school level, bond money would be used to build new classrooms, new science labs and a new choir room. Some money would go toward a new commons/cafeteria.

The high school also would be able to build a new, expanded library, which would allow for a partnership between the school district and the Bigfork branch of the Flathead County Library.

The elementary bond would build new middle school classrooms, science rooms and a new art room. It would allow for primary grade classroom additions, enlarge the kitchen and cafeteria and fix noise problems in the library.

Both schools' entrances and main offices would receive makeovers. If the elementary bond passes, the building will have a distinguishable main entry for the first time, Kinzer said.

The district would use money from both bonds to improve the parking lot. The elementary and high school lots would be separated, and each would have its own access. The district also would widen part of Commerce Street to reduce the traffic backup that occurs at the end of each school day.

Call the district office at 837-7400 or visit http://suse.bigfork.k12.mt.us/district/index.htm for more information.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com