Marion School plans smaller expansion

Voters might have rejected Marion School's bond request, but school officials are pressing on with plans to expand the building.

The school is moving forward with a scaled-down plan for three classrooms, offices and restrooms that comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Those were part of the master plan Marion School presented in January when voters rejected a $2.2 million bond request.

That money would have paid for an 11,955-square-foot expansion with five new classrooms, new rooms and a waiting area for Title I, counseling, psychology and speech; staff offices; and bathrooms for students who need handicapped-accessible facilities.

The new, scaled-down plan will give the school an additional 4,496 square feet.

To pay for the new construction, which Principal Justin Barnes estimates will cost about $473,000, Marion School is applying for a loan. It will work essentially like a loan for a would-be homeowner, Barnes said.

There are some differences; instead of collateral, Glacier Bank will look at whether Marion School can faithfully make payments, Barnes said. The bank will look through budgets of the last few years. It also will consider other money the district receives.

The school receives some money from a building reserve levy voters approved several years ago, Barnes said, which will help Marion make payments for several years. That money will pay off about half the loan, he said.

After that, the district can either ask voters for another levy or simply make payments out of the general fund budget, which primarily comes from the state.

"I think we would be able to [make payments] out of the general fund, although if you start pulling money there, you reallocate all over the place," Barnes said.

That reallocation doesn't mean other projects or programs will get short-changed, Barnes said.

"The last year or two, we've been fortunate to have some monies left over. We won't have to pull drastically from any one department" to make loan payments, he said.

Bob Nystuen, president of Glacier Bank, would not discuss the specifics of Marion's loan, saying the information was private between the district and the bank. He also wouldn't say what might happen if the district was unable to make its loan payments.

"I'm inclined not to ... speculate like that," he said. "We would consider their credit request like any other commercial-type borrower and follow the same basic underwriting procedures."

Asking for a bank loan is an unusual option for local K-12 districts. Marcia Sheffels, county superintendent of schools, said she has never heard of districts asking for a loan but was confident Marion officials had done their research.

"They have a very seasoned business manager out there, and they've got a strong school board chairperson," Sheffels said. "They have been calling and asking questions of various entities. They have been doing their homework."

Nystuen said he wasn't familiar with other loans to K-12 districts but that Glacier Bank has done work with colleges.

Marion first began considering a loan before the January bond election, Barnes said. Trustees considered putting up a second modular building, similar to the building that now holds fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms. A banker, not from Glacier Bank, suggested asking for a loan to cover the modular, he said.

The district ultimately decided against a modular and decided to try for a bond instead.

"We didn't want it to look like a humongous trailer park out here," Barnes said.

If the bank approves the loan, Marion School can proceed with a building project that still follows the original plan presented in January. If the board decides to ask voters to approve a bond issue in the future, the district can build the rest of the plan.

While the district doesn't need voter approval to request a loan, trustees and school officials don't want taxpayers to feel as if their wishes are being ignored after the failed bond request, Barnes said. But there are some things Marion School officials say the school can no longer do without.

The plan, which Kalispell-based Architects Design Group reworked after the bond's failure, will give Marion School two regular classrooms and a third classroom that will be divided to house speech, Title I and special education programs.

Those new rooms will allow the school to evacuate its basement classroom, which a state fire inspector has deemed unacceptable for student use. The district hasn't faced fines for continuing to teach students in the basement; the inspector recognized Marion School is using every available space.

The new classrooms also will free up the modular building, which will be moved behind the gym. The relocation, which will cost $5,000, will allow fourth- and fifth-graders to move into the main building, and the modular will become the school's band hall, Barnes said.

Plans also call for another section, which Barnes described as about the size of a classroom, to house offices for the school secretary, clerk and principal and handicapped-accessible restrooms.

For years the principal has worked out of the school's retrofitted janitor's closet, and Marion never has needed handicapped-accessible facilities before. But should a student with special physical needs move into the district, federal law would require the district to build an accessible bathroom.

Marion School also will get a new septic system because the existing system does not comply with county standards, said Kenneth Huff with Architects Design Group.

The district hopes to start construction this spring and have the new rooms ready for students and staff before school starts next fall, Barnes said.

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