Muldown makeover Task force recommends new building and renovations to Whitefish school board

Building a new school while retaining a portion of Muldown Elementary at an estimated cost of $26.5 million is a task force’s recommendation to the Whitefish School District board.

The recommendation is expected to go before the board in May.

The recommendation to the board follows more than a year of discussions on how to address aging infrastructure and overcrowding.

Building a new two-story school at the corner of East Seventh Street and Pine Avenue, south of Whitefish High School is included in the recommendation. Planners estimate it would be about 84,000 square feet and could house up to 756 students. The existing Muldown building currently houses 670 kindergarten through fourth-graders ­­— the most of any elementary school in Montana.

The recommendation also proposes saving roughly 25,000 square feet of the existing Muldown Elementary building. This includes retaining a two-story section of the building constructed in 1991, along with a section of the building to the south, next to Seventh Street. One idea on how to use this space would be for preschool programming if preschool ever becomes a state mandate, although no plans have been made yet according to Whitefish School District Superintendent Heather Davis Schmidt.

A new roadway would be constructed between the new and existing elementary buildings to mitigate traffic.

If the board approves the task force’s recommendation, it will need to decide whether to put a bond issue before taxpayers to fund the project. If board members decide to put a bond issue before taxpayers, administrators anticipate holding a mail-ballot election in October.

If a $26.5 million bond issue is approved by taxpayers, owners of a home with a taxable value of $200,000 could anticipate an annual property tax increase of $109.24. The bond issue would span 20 years.

Built in 1966, the last major renovation to Muldown Elementary was completed in 1992. Problems of the existing building include a failing heating system original to the building, structural issues with the roof, lack of insulation and vapor barriers, inadequate drainage in parking lots, a failing irrigation system, and many mechanical systems past life expectancy.

The task force announced its recommendation during a community forum on March 21. Working with architects and engineers L’Heureux, Page and Werner, the task force had narrowed down 11 options to three over several months. Those included making “bare necessity” repairs to the existing building at an estimated $9.1 million; expand and upgrade the current school at $16.3 million to building; or build a new school at around $21 million.

Jay Stagg, district food service director and task force member, said his opinion on the project changed as he began to understand the extent of the school’s issues.

“When we started the process I was in the mindset that we should just fix what we have — spend whatever amount of money, fix what we have and move on,” Stagg said. “But once we started investigating all the different options I’ve completely gone 180 degrees to thinking a brand new school is the way to go.”

That concern about how public dollars are spent was present during the March 21 forum.

David Scott voiced his concern noting that the new Whitefish High School just opened in 2014.

“The timing to try to ask for another new school couldn’t be any worse,” Scott said.

Davis Schmidt said this is not a wants-versus-needs issue.

“I don’t think there’s ever a good time to go to the taxpayers and say ‘we need something more,’ but I do know that as a superintendent, we have a responsibility to tell the community what our needs are to ensure the best education and the safety for our students,” she said.

Daily Inter Lake reporter Hilary Matheson contributed to this report.