District votes to sell former school building

Kalispell Public Schools Board of Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to place the Auxiliary Services Building, located at 514 E. Washington St., for sale.

The recommended sale price for the building that previously housed Laser School — and Edgerton School before that — is $350,000. If sold, revenue may be used for projects in the high school district.

Trustees tabled discussion on selling a warehouse property located at 33 Meridian Court after receiving more financial information from Tom Heinecke, supervising engineer at Morrison Maierle. The building had been slated for renovation into a central kitchen.

New estimates show renovation to the Meridian property would cost $699,000 — more than double what the district anticipated. In light of that, Kalispell Superintendent Darlene Schottle recommended selling the property for $250,000 — $95,000 less than the district paid for it in 2010.

As the district moves forward in its discussion of adding classrooms to alleviate elementary overcrowding, adding a central kitchen was discussed. Heinecke, however, estimated that building a central kitchen at an elementary site or Kalispell Middle School could cost upwards of $1.7 to $2 million.

In light of the information, trustees decided to wait on taking action to sell the Meridian property.