Options narrowed for new schools

Kalispell Public Schools is homing in on how a new school — or schools — will be configured on a 25-acre property south of town on Airport Road.

Presented with six options by planner Steve L’Heureux of L’Heureux Page Werner, a facility planning committee steered the district in at least two clear directions at a meeting last week.

The two top options include building an elementary school and a separate middle school, each with their own variations.

One option would include building a first- through fifth-grade elementary school and a sixth- through eighth-grade middle school, then converting a centrally located elementary building into an early childhood education center to house pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.

The early childhood center was proposed to free up schools dealing with overcrowded kindergarten classes while offering tuition-based pre-kindergarten. Currently, pre-kindergarten is not mandated by Montana, but a state-funded early childhood education program for all children is gaining momentum as an initiative of Gov. Steve Bullock.

“It’s a need we know is there,” Kalispell Public Schools Superintendent Mark Flatau said.

Another top option among committee members would be to build an elementary school for kindergarten through fifth grade and a middle school for sixth through eighth grade. L’Heureux saw this option as having the most potential for addressing expansion in the long term.

Participants also proposed building just one school for kindergarten through fifth grade, which surprised some administrators because it would leave Somers-Lakeside School District out of the picture.

Somers-Lakeside School District has been in talks with Kalispell Public Schools on a possible partnership to send its sixth- through eighth-graders to Kalispell if the district built a facility to house those grade levels.

Flatau clarified some concerns in the community from a financial standpoint. Although Somers-Lakeside School District taxpayers would not pay for construction of a new school, Kalispell Public Schools would receive ongoing state funding per student.

“We talked that Lakeside-Somers is not paying for the school from a bonding standpoint, but they pay in regard to giving up 160 to 180 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders, which would provide operational support,” Flatau said.

Other options that did not receive much of a green light, but remain possibilities, are building one facility in one of two configurations – kindergarten through eighth or fifth through eighth. Either scenario would involve some segregation of the elementary and middle school grades.

“You’d have an elementary entrance K-5; you’d have a middle school entrance 6-8, maybe they share a large gymnasium or common indoor areas, but typically would operate as two distinct schools under one roof,” Flatau said.

One option that was rejected across the board was building a new Flathead High School, which would require purchasing a 40-acre property in addition to building a new elementary (kindergarten through fifth) at the Airport Road property. In this scenario, the existing Flathead High School would be converted to a sixth- or fifth- through eighth-grade facility.

Planners also presented modifications and expansion possibilities, such as adding common and multipurpose areas, for the existing elementary schools to adapt them for 21st-century learning. Any remodeling would be tacked onto the costs of building a new school or schools and go out as one elementary bond request.

“Every elementary we went to, there’s stuff happening in the hallways,” L’Heureux said. “You’re doing the 21st-century concept, but you don’t have anywhere to do it.”

Part of this discussion was “ideal” building capacity per school.

“You’re already at a deficit. You already need room for 225 [kindergarten through fifth graders] now,” L’Heureux said.

Discussion shifted to how early a bond request may go out to voters.

“[In] 2016 it needs to happen,” Flatau said.

Districts around the state have been successful in passing bond requests. Most recently, Missoula taxpayers approved a total of $158 million for elementary and high schools.

Bigfork School District taxpayers approved $14 million in October to renovate the high school.

“Billings has been successful. Bozeman has been successful,” L’Heureux noted. “ That sets a nice tone around the state. We do need to do this and voters are recognizing that fact.”

The facility planning committee is made up of district administrators, teachers, parents, community and business members. They began meeting in June, tasked with guiding the district in both long-term and short-term solutions for facility maintenance and expansion to deal with overcrowding and aging infrastructure.

The next facility planning meeting is 6 p.m. Dec. 2 at Russell Elementary, where the focus will continue on the elementary schools and then shift to the high school facilities.

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