Changes planned for school welding program

Changes are slated in the fall for the high school welding program in Kalispell Public Schools.

Currently, welding classes, taught by a high school teacher hired by the district, are held at Flathead Valley Community College.

Between 40 and 50 Flathead and Glacier high school students have taken welding this year.

In the fall, students will be able to take beginning welding courses at Flathead High School while advanced courses — typically taken by juniors and seniors — may be taken at the community college through its Running Start program.

Glacier students wishing to enroll in welding would be able to go to Flathead as they currently do to take auto body courses, which are housed at Flathead.

This is anticipated to be a temporary arrangement as the district looks for a longterm solution in facility planning meetings.

“I think the message that we want to send is we are not dropping the welding program — we will continue to offer it,” Superintendent Mark Flatau said during a school board meeting Tuesday.

Kalispell Public Schools has looked at options for the welding program for several months because its current location at the FVCC Occupational Trades Building won’t be available next school year — primarily due to enrollment growth in FVCC’s own programs.

High school welding classes currently use community college facilities in four-hour blocks and the school district pays an annual user fee of $12,000.

FVCC had offered to convert an existing maintenance space at the college into a welding facility for the high schools to use. However, the Kalispell Public Schools’ user fees would increase considerably to cover remodeling costs to reimburse the college, or the district would purchase the welding equipment to negotiate a user fee closer to what it currently is.

Remodeling part of the Flathead High School shop for beginning welding will take some money, which will be assessed and brought to the board in the coming months, but the district doesn’t want to be locked into a location before districtwide longterm facility planning is completed.

“We believe it’s doable to establish a temporary site at the Flathead High School shop facility to offer the beginning welding courses,” Flatau said. “It will require minor remodeling and involve some purchasing of equipment.”

Through Running Start, high school juniors and seniors enroll in college courses and thus take classes with college students. Students may earn up to six college credits at no cost.

A couple of trustees on the Kalispell Public Schools board voiced apprehension with the maturity level of high school students or compatibility concerns with college professors in a trades course as opposed to an academic course in a classroom setting.

But this wouldn’t be the first time high school students have taken college courses in the trades through Running Start, Flathead Valley Community College President Jane Karas said Wednesday.

Kalispell Public Schools welding instructor Hugh Naldrett voiced concern during Tuesday’s board meeting that students may not continue in welding if the demands change from a high school- to a college-level course.

“In my opinion, very few are ready to go to that point or willing to go to that point. They are in high school — they want to be in a high school class,” Naldrett said.

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.