Small school, big changes

West Glacier unveils proposals for 4-day week, junior high

If you ask Principal Cortni King, West Glacier Elementary is a gem of a school.

It sits on the edge of Glacier National Park, providing its 24 students unparalleled opportunities academically and recreationally.

Enrollment is a quarter what it was when the district formed in the 1980s, creating a 'space-rich" school with room for growth. The community is close-knit and supportive, with 85 percent of the school's parents regularly volunteering for school activities.

The features that make the district unique also may qualify West Glacier for two major changes that school officials are proposing for next fall. The district hopes to add a junior-high program and implement a four-day school week for the 2009-'10 school year.

The district hosted an informational meeting Tuesday to discuss the proposals with the community. The entire staff, including classified employees, and all three members of the school board were at the meeting. About 15 community members were in the audience.

King told the group that she anticipates a three-year growth cycle for the junior-high program.

West Glacier currently "outsources' its seventh- and eighth-graders to the Columbia Falls School District, and most sixth-graders opt to attend Columbia Falls Junior High as well.

Those students likely wouldn't return to West Glacier for junior high next year, King said, so the school's junior-high program technically wouldn't start until fall 2010, when this year's fifth-graders start seventh grade.

Retaining the older students will increase the school's enrollment, which will increase the district's annual per-student funding from the state. West Glacier would receive about $6,000 per seventh- and eighth-grade student, King said and about $4,700 per kindergarten through sixth-grade student.

The result would be about a 25 percent increase in West Glacier's general fund budget, King said. Next year's projected budget is about $213,000.

West Glacier also would receive the base rate that the state Office of Public Instruction offers middle-school programs, King said. To qualify, at least two junior-high students would have to enroll, a minimum King assured parents Tuesday that the school should have no trouble meeting.

West Glacier currently has two teachers plus King for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. King plans to hire part-time teachers for the junior high program, since the existing teachers could handle some junior-high subjects.

Moving to a four-day week also would help the school financially, King said. The move would reduce the school's energy expenses by about $750 a year and would slightly decrease the district's classified staff budget.

The biggest savings likely would occur in West Glacier's transportation budget, King said. The district's current agreement with Byrd Transportation expires in 2011.

At that time, King said, "it may be much more prudent … to offer transportation contracts to individual parents to transport their kids," King said.

West Glacier cannot legally provide transportation for out-of-district students and is not required to provide transportation for those who live within 3 miles of the school. If only a handful of students live beyond the 3-mile radius but still within the district boundaries, using a "big, yellow school bus' might not be the best option, King said.

"From every standpoint, it's wasteful," she said Wednesday.

The proposed changes will have a slight impact on district taxpayers. School officials estimate that annual property taxes will increase by about $2 on a house with a taxable market value of $100,000. District clerk Anna Stene said Tuesday that the $2 estimate might be a little high.

The four-day week would add about 70 minutes to each school day, which would allow the junior high to operate on a modified block schedule.

The schedule is far from finalized, but King hopes to include a year-round health and physical education block, allowing students ample time to hike, mountain-bike and snowshoe in the park. They also would have a short, daily block of Spanish, which King predicts would allow West Glacier students to test into an advanced Spanish class in high school.

The school would operate on trimesters and the junior high would feature a different elective each term. Students would take music, visual arts and vocational-technical classes during that block. King said she hopes to use local residents to teach many of those classes.

With Fridays off, students would have 35 fewer instructional days a year. But the additional time each day would keep the district well above state accreditation standards.

The state requires 720 instructional hours per year for students in kindergarten through third grade. Fourth- through 12th-grade students must have 1,080 hours a year.

With a four-day week, West Glacier's students would be well above the range - excessively so for the youngest students, King said. Those children would get an extra recess, and the final hour of the day likely would be spent in Montessori-like 'structured play." Parents who wanted to pick up their young children early could do so.

A four-day week wouldn't work in every district, King said, but in West Glacier many parents are seasonal employees. They might welcome an additional day to spend with their children. With parents at home and small enrollment - two dozen students are enrolled now - the schedule wouldn't create undue strain on area day cares each Friday, King said.

Having Fridays off would allow families to schedule doctor and dental appointments without pulling children out of school for several hours, King said. It also would help students who might otherwise miss class for extracurricular activities.

King is trying to find a district that will allow West Glacier junior-high students to participate in extracurricular activities. Columbia Falls already has said no, so King plans next to ask Kalispell Public Schools. If the district won't welcome West Glacier kids, King said she will talk to other rural districts.

"We want to make sure our kids are availed every opportunity they should be," she said.

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

Second meeting planned

Those who missed Tuesday's meeting will have another chance to hear about the proposals.

West Glacier Elementary will host a second meeting at 5:30 p.m. April 16.

The school board is scheduled to vote on the proposed changes at its regular meeting April 21.

For more information, call King at 888-5312.