Smith Valley School wrestles with overcrowding

Smith Valley School kicked off the facility planning process with multiple meetings Monday to brainstorm needs and solutions for facilities that are at capacity.

Smith Valley Principal Laili Komenda said the school has a current enrollment of about 220 kindergarten through eighth-grade students, not including staff members. In 2001, enrollment stood at 156 students, according to a Statistical Report of Schools compiled by the Flathead County Superintendent of Schools.

“Our septic system was meant for 208 people,” Komenda said, giving an example of the strain enrollment growth has put on infrastructure.

According to demographic data presented by Jackola Engineers, enrollment is projected to reach 237 students by 2025 based on “existing 10-year, 1.89% growth.” Jackola noted this is a conservative projection, considering rapid population growth in the valley.

Storage is also an issue at the school. In the fall, the district put containers and sheds on the property to have more storage.

“Basically we’re starting off with no preconceived notions of what we need other than that we need space,” Komenda said at one of the brainstorming sessions. “The constraints on space we have right now have become very very problematic and real evidenced by how crowded our hallways are with kids — with paper and storage on top of the lockers — as well as all of our important records are stored above the bathrooms in the gym.”

DURING THE meetings, staff, parents and community members in attendance shared ideas on what the needs are: more classrooms; a bigger library, gym and cafeteria; expanded parking; new kitchen, multipurpose rooms, spaces for small groups to meet, showers/locker rooms; creation of soccer fields and establishing a single, secure entrance.

A recurring concern for the Smith Valley community is the school's proximity to U.S. 2 from a safety and noise standpoint.

People also pitched a variety of ways on how to achieve those needs: repurposing/remodeling the buildings; bulldozing the school and starting over; purchasing property behind the school for expansion; purchasing property to relocate the school to a different site; asking the state to put up highway noise barrier walls; partnering with neighboring school districts to build a new middle school; or transporting seventh- and eighth-graders to a different middle school, freeing up space.

Smith Valley School is made up of three buildings. The newest building, which houses grades 2 through 8, is a prefabricated building Komenda estimates dates back to 2004. Kindergarten, first grade and Title 1 classes are housed in the district’s oldest building, which dates back to the 1900s, but has had some remodeling work completed decades ago. The third building is where the gym and kitchen are located and is used for P.E., music and lunch.

Jackola Engineering, which was hired to facilitate the planning process and develop design concepts, has done a facility assessment to learn about the condition of the buildings.

PASSING A bond issue to fund a construction project might be the biggest hurdle in accomplishing district goals. In 2017, the district attempted to pass a $6 million bond to expand the school, which was voted down.

Komenda pointed out that the district has been mindful of spending and asking taxpayers for additional funding through operational levies. Komenda said Smith Valley spends less to educate a student compared to other districts in Flathead County.

“Meaning we aren’t asking our taxpayers for money nearly as often as other districts,” Komenda said. “We have not been asking voters to have an operating levy since I’ve been here. Looking at old records I saw some quite a while ago, in the ’70s, or ’80s, or ’90s, had been asked for but not recently.”

Meeting attendee Heidi Burkhalter gave insight as a former teacher at the school and as a neighboring property owner.

“I know the needs. I lived them and I agree there needs to be something done because it is too small and it doesn’t meet the needs of the staff or the children,” Burkhalter said. “I’ve always been a homeowner when I was working there, but now we’re looking at this through the lens of a homeowner … I think last time it [the bond] was way too much money.”

She also emphasized the district needs to be cognizant the pandemic is still going on and many people have lost their jobs.

“I think you’re going to have to be pretty clear on what you’re doing and what you’re spending,” Burkhalter said. She also suggested going door-to-door to explain the needs in a personalized way, especially reaching residents who may not have children, or whose children attend other schools.

“I know the needs are there, but the average person doesn’t,” Burkhalter said.

JANN TONJUM, a parent and community member, said she’s seen how a renovated school can renew a sense of pride in a school community while she was a substitute teacher in West Valley School after it opened a new middle school addition.

“There was a change in the students, they felt cared for and respected, and I feel like they then turned around and cared for the adults and teachers and their school building,” Tonjum said.

Tonjum said that respect could extend to the wider Smith Valley community and create opportunities for the town to flourish.

“This school will help this community in a lot of different ways,” Tonjum said.

Komenda also answered an earlier meeting question about the school approving out-of-district students and whether or not discontinuing the practice would improve capacity issues.

“You can look at, well, if we get rid of our out-of-district [students] ... it wouldn’t necessarily mean we need less teachers,” Komenda said. “You take out three or four out of this grade, three out of four in that grade, and all they were doing was helping funding.”

The next step in the facility planning process will be prioritizing community feedback and district needs, which will be used to develop design concepts. The goal is to present concepts with costs attached to the community over the summer, with a bond issue going before voters in November.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.