Kalispell board OKs Peterson School project
Peterson School will get a little more classroom space this fall, after a decision Tuesday at the Kalispell school board meeting.
Trustees awarded a $51,200 bid to Meredith Construction to renovate Peterson's stage area. The project will allow the school to hold classes on the stage, facilities and transportation director Chuck Cassidy said Wednesday. It will also give the school some much-needed space.
"Because of the student loading anticipated for next year, the elementary district is feeling some pressures for where to put students around the district, so they're trying to take the stage and make it a learning environment," Cassidy explained.
Remodeling an old science lab into space for kindergarten students is also included in the project, he said.
The district may incur some costs in addition to the remodel, Superintendent Darlene Schottle told trustees Tuesday. She estimated those additional costs - to cover things like moving sheds and creating new storage space - at about $20,000, but Cassidy said Wednesday that estimate was probably high.
Money for the project comes from the district's building reserve fund. Most of the work will be finished before school starts, but the heating and air conditioning unit could take eight weeks to arrive, Cassidy said.
Three heating and air conditioning units will be installed at Flathead High School this summer. The school board recently awarded Central Heating and Cooling a $220,646 bid to install three rooftop units at the high school, Cassidy said.
The units should be installed before school begins, he said. Money for the installations is coming from the high school building reserve fund.
Some elementary building reserve money will be spent on replacing a boiler at Elrod School and replacing single-pane windows with double-pane glass and building a vestibule at Russell School. Most of the funds for that project, however, come from Quick Start energy grants - federal stimulus money administered by the state Department of Commerce. Those funds must be spent by Sept. 30.
The district also will receive about $600,000 in stimulus money through the Department of Commerce to use for deferred maintenance projects, but officials don't yet know how that money will be spent. The board had not yet discussed how to best use the deferred maintenance money, which must be spent by Sept. 30, 2010.
Principals will meet to figure out and prioritize their needs so the district can figure out how to spend the money. Many elementary principals are out of town on summer vacation and were unable to meet before Tuesday's meeting, Cassidy said.
"We're hoping in early August to have all the elementary administrators back in a group," he said.
Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@ dailyinterlake.com