Smith Valley School seeks approval for $6 million bond

Smith Valley School District will seek voter approval of a $6 million bond issue in an upcoming mail-ballot election to expand facilities and accommodate enrollment growth.

Approximately 1,151 ballots will be mailed out on March 9 and are due at the school by 8 p.m. March 28.

If the bond is approved, owners of homes with assessed values of $200,000 could anticipate annual property taxes to increase by $448.82. The life of the bond would be 20 years.

The bond issue would be used to fund expansion and renovation of the school, in addition to purchasing 9.8 acres of undeveloped land adjacent to the school on U.S. 2 West owned by Ronald and Shirley Baier. The purchase is contingent on the bond issue passing.

The project proposal includes building six to seven classrooms, a new library, a new gym and multipurpose space, new offices, a new drain field and upgraded septic system, as well as improving security, adding parking and improving traffic flow.

The impetus for requesting the funding is enrollment growth. Enrollment currently stands at 230 students. Planners and staff took into consideration if enrollment grows by 3 percent each year and estimated that over the next 15 to 20 years could rise to more than 400 students. The proposed project would accommodate 420 students, Smith Valley School Principal Laili Komenda said.

Overcrowding is occurring at the third- through fifth-grade level. Two kindergarten classes are quickly approaching maximum class sizes based on state accreditation standards.

State accreditation standards cap kindergarten through second-grade class sizes at 20 students per teacher. The state accreditation standard increases to 28 students per class in third- and fourth-grades, and 30 students per teacher in fifth- through eighth-grades.

Currently a third-grade class has 27 students and a fourth-grade class has 23. There are 31 fifth-graders, which exceeds state accreditation standards. In order to meet the standards a paraprofessional position was added.

The minimum needs of the school to accommodate current growth is at least two more classrooms, space for small groups and special education to meet and additional storage space.

The decision to request a $6 million bond was unanimously approved by the Smith Valley School board on Jan. 10, although trustees debated the amount. The board looked at requesting a $4 million bond issue, but planners anticipated that amount would only accommodate a project to account for growth over seven to nine years.

“We’d move into the rooms and be crowded the day the hammer hits the last nail,” Komenda said.

The newer part of the existing building constructed in 2004 includes the main office, second- through eighth-grade classrooms, a special education room and a room used for multiple purposes — staff conference room, offices for the school counselor, psychologist and occupational therapist, and a place to do therapy with students. The current building has outlived its functionality. Classes typically overflow into the hallways for small groups or big projects, which also serve as a place to store paper on top of student lockers.

“We’re short two classrooms and at least five spaces for small groups and special education,” Komenda said.

The existing building which houses the gym and lunch facilities has also posed a set of challenges. Originally built in the 1970s, it doesn’t meet regulations of most sports because of its size. Also located in the gym is a food prep room and cafeteria, both of which were converted from classrooms. A classroom in the building currently houses music classes.

The original part of the school building, built in 1897 and later expanded on to include bathrooms and additional classrooms, houses between 65 to 75 kindergarten and first-graders. One of the bigger issues in this part of the school is lack of bathrooms. There is just one stall for girls. The boys have one toilet and one urinal. If the bond issue passes, this building, which has four classrooms, will be used as a flexible space for activities such as art, presentations and a preschool program.

Enrollment growth has factored into several school district discussions around the Flathead Valley. Cayuse Prairie School is currently seeking input on potential expansion plans. Kalispell Public Schools is progressing on projects from a $25.3 million elementary bond issue, that includes building a new elementary school to accommodate overcrowding. Kalispell Public Schools also passed a $28.8 million high school district bond issue. In 2015, West Valley School completed a $6.8 million expansion that added 36,000 square feet, also to accommodate overcrowding.

Smith Valley School invites the public to learn more about proposed plans at a presentation scheduled at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 28.

Reporter Hilary Matheson can be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.