LETTER: Bigfork ought to be looking at new high school

From everything I have read, it sounds like the Bigfork High School is dated, too small and shows evidence of deferred maintenance. Why would we want to spend $14 million on it?

I do not recall reading anything about the School Board and the members of the public having discussed and/or considered building a new school.

Anybody who has ever done a remodel will agree that inevitably numerous unforeseen Oops! and Oh Hecks! come up and all of them always are very costly.

Would it not make more sense to buy 10 to 15 acres, for instance, on Montana 83 next to the new garbage collection site and start from scratch? High school, junior high, administration, etc., all on one campus. By using the latest building methods, i.e. SIPS or ICF the buildings would go up fast and would have an excellent insulation factor. A new building can be designed for today’s specific needs — both the school’s as well as some public community events.

The current school location is prime for commercial development. Imagine a motel, a multilevel parking garage, perhaps townhouses or Condos both for business and private use. Downtown Bigfork would hugely benefit by taking this route. Selling the current school property would offset not only the land acquisition but also some of the construction costs. The Glacier High School was built for $36 million. I believe we can do it for less. 

While I have most often supported school levies I will vote against this project and urge everyone to do the same, thus giving the School Board and the representatives of the public another chance to come up with a better alternative. —Elsa Putzier, Bigfork