Board still looking at three school sites

Kalispell school officials continue to look for a future elementary school site as room runs out in existing schools.

Three 25-acre properties have been under consideration by school trustees for months. 

The land parcels in south Kalispell are large enough to fit two school buildings, according to Kalispell Public Schools Superintendent Darlene Schottle.

Schottle noted that eight new classrooms built at Peterson and Edgerton Elementary Schools were at capacity for the upcoming school year. She said the middle school also is experiencing growth.

“We certainly need the elementary board to look at how you’re going to provide space for your K-8 population,” Schottle said.

Schottle said any of the properties could be purchased using money available in an interlocal agreement fund. The fund contains a combination of high school and elementary district money.

The south end of town is an area that has been attracting younger families but is limited in available land, according to board chairman Frank Miller. 

Miller stressed at a work session on Tuesday that the board should act sooner rather than later.

The three properties have some complicating factors.

Two parcels are adjacent to each other on Airport Road.

In March, trustees had made an unsuccessful offer on one piece of land southeast of the Ashley Park subdivision. The district offered the appraised value of $420,000. At the time, another offer had been made and accepted. 

Although the property has not been listed, the district recently asked West Venture Real Estate to inquire if the new owners were willing to sell.

They were — at a higher asking price of $475,000.

Montana Land Records and Deeds Directory lists the owners of the property as Sam and Julie Baldridge of Whitefish.

Infrastructure costs to develop this property for schools are estimated to be $508,000.

Sam Baldridge dealt with the district previously in fall 2013 when he made an offer on the district’s Auxiliary Services Building at 514 E. Washington St. The offer was later withdrawn because it had been contingent on negotiating a lease with a governmental entity. 

The second prospective piece of school land — located adjacent to the first — is listed by West Venture Real Estate at $420,000. What potentially makes the property cost-prohibitive is the estimated $2.4 million needed to build infrastructure. 

“The selling price is lower, but where I ask you to look at is the infrastructure and development costs, which are unbelievable,” Schottle told trustees, adding that the district would have to build the infrastructure through the first property to reach the second.

The third tract seemed like a good option to Miller but it has a legal roadblock. This property on land reaching from Cemetery Road across the U.S. 93 bypass, is in the Somers-Lakeside School District and would need to be transferred to the Kalispell district.

Both districts explored a property transfer and joint use, Schottle said, but discovered they couldn’t move forward unless state law is changed.

“We couldn’t transfer property because in current code it says there must be an elementary-aged student living on the property,” Schottle said.

This part of the code is meant to prevent property owners from transferring property from a higher tax base to a lower tax base for personal gain, which could have a negative effect on a school district’s taxable value according to the Flathead County Superintendent of Schools.

Trustees also learned from a recent legal opinion that they will need voter approval prior to purchasing property — even if they don’t need to ask voters for money to buy land.

“It’s really difficult when you’re trying to get something like this done and you have all these roadblocks because I really strongly believe we need to find some land and we need to find it A.S.A.P.,” Miller said.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.