Columbia Falls to ask voters for $37 million school bond

The Columbia Falls School Board this week approved a $37 million 20-year bond election to renovate Ruder Elementary School and build an entirely new school at Glacier Gateway.

The bond issue also would pay for $200,000 in security improvements for Columbia Falls Junior High School and would add four new playing fields, along with parking, between Ruder Elementary and the junior high.

For a home valued at $250,000, the additional property tax impact if the bond passes would be $26 a month, or $312 a year. The school notes, however, that taxpayers are currently paying for the junior high bond from 2000. That bond is paid off next year. The incremental difference in the loan payments, however, would be $17.58 per month, or about $210 annually on a $250,000 home.

Under the plan, Ruder Elementary would see new classrooms, a dining area, a music room and a completely revamped entrance, where people would enter the building from the east, based on preliminary drawings. It would also see repairs and/or replacements of its mechanical systems and remodels to its existing classrooms and well as a fire suppression system at a cost of about $10.2 million.

Glacier Gateway would see an entirely new structure, built northwest of the existing building in what is now either vacant land or playgrounds. The cost to tear down the old school and build a new one is about $24.4 million.

When finished, Ruder would have a capacity of about 644 students, as would the new Glacier Gateway school.

The sport fields would be used for soccer, lacrosse, football, or other sports. The fields themselves would cost about $642,000 and the parking lot another $311,000. The parking would also serve the junior high track, which is used for both high school and junior high track events.

The board trimmed about $250,000 in costs from the sports complex for concessions and bathrooms, because several local businesses have indicated a willingness to help with the project and their in-kind donations could free up money to build the concessions.

The board also looked to dispel some misconceptions about the project. Board members noted that reopening Canyon Elementary, which some have called for, would cost the district about $1 million a year, but would only serve about 75 students.

Board members also noted they wanted to work with the Boys and Girls Club at Ruder Elementary, but claimed the organization, which has plans to build a separate center just north of Ruder next year, would only allow restricted access to its facility for just a few hours a day.

The board also debated the future of the old junior high, as costs to tear it down range from $1.1 million to $1.34 million.

In the end, the board decided to demolish just the north wing of the building, remodel the existing multi-use gym and keep the old gym as well. With so many after-school winter activities going on, tearing down a perfectly good, albeit old gym, was untenable.

Now the difficult part of the project begins — selling it to the public. A committee will look to get information on the project out to the public in the coming weeks and the district will complete the election by a mail-in ballot, with ballots due by Oct. 8.

Part of the public relations campaign likely will showcase the success of the junior high project, which was bonded 20 years ago. The last payment will be made next year.

The junior high bond, which included the purchase of more than 32 acres of land, was $11.9 million. It was a well-constructed building and looks almost new today. But the vote for the junior high was a tight one — the margin of yeas over nays back in 1999 was just 42 votes with a turnout of more than 60 percent.

This measure will also face some challenges. While interest rates are low, the state just came out with new property appraisals, with some properties in Columbia Falls seeing 20 to 30 percent increases. If mill levies stay the same, that means a de facto tax increase.