District unveils high school plan

Conceptual plan could double floor space, school board will look at levy on Nov. 13

By CONSTANCE SEE / Whitefish Pilot

A plan to upgrade White-fish High School could cost school district taxpayers as much as $29.8 million, the district recently announced.

School district superintendent Jerry House, high school principal Kent Paulson and architect John Evans presented the two-phase master plan for the project at a forum on Oct. 30.

The conceptual plan calls for 108,475 square feet of new construction, 24,993 square feet of partial remodeling, and 53,112 square feet with minimal work.

The remodeled building will add a food court, expanded library, conference rooms, more parking, more locker rooms, more computer labs, science labs, a student store, a media/sound studio, courtyards, more windows and more storage.

When asked about parking issues, Evans said some spaces could be used by the construction crew for their trailer and materials.

"We'll build parking at the north end and, in essence, it will be a wash," Evans said. "When I drive through on a daily basis, there are still a lot of spaces not being used."

A school bond seeking approximately $22 million for Phase 1 of the plan will be presented to residents on Feb. 27, 2008, pending Secretary of State and board approval.

Phase 2, would bring the final total up to $29.8 million. Phase 2 could include a day care center and auditorium. A start date for the second phase has not been determined.

Based on 2007-2008 figures, the school district's elementary school bonding capacity is $21.3 million, but it has $9.6 million in debt, leaving an available bonding capacity of $11.6 million.

The high school's bonding capacity is $22 million. Together, the district could request up to $33.6 million in bonds.

House announced last June a loss of 91 students in the district. Budget cuts included eliminating a middle school assistant principal position this fall.

The first step of the master plan is to seek school board approval to pursue a mail-in election at the Nov. 13 trustee meeting.

If approved by trustees, the state and the public, construction could begin in spring 2009. Demolition of the "C" wing could occur in fall 2010, and construction could be completed by winter 2011.

Paulson said the administration has been collecting extensive research for the master plan over the last five years.

House said the administration has also taken lessons from the recently remodeled Whitefish Middle School projects. Costs for one line item, steel, jumped 75 percent after the school's remodeling budget was approved.

This time, House said, he will work closely with Evans and the general contractor to attempt to forecast similar price changes as best they can.

"The market is slowing down a little bit," House said. "Hopefully, by the time we get the bond passed and into the bidding process, the subcontractors will be hungrier than they are now."

"We're lucky to have Glacier High School right down the road," Paulson said about the new high school in Kalispell. "We have been picking their brains asking what they learned after construction and what they would have done differently."

The process for the high school remodel will also be different from the middle school in regards to student displacement, House said. Although construction noises are to be expected, students will remain safe and secure as the process evolves.

The master plan also calls for improvements to the high school's security.

Assistant principal Jeff Peck said moving the student resource officer's office to "dead center" of the building would increase the likelihood of student participation, and new cameras would match those installed at Whitefish Middle School.

Several teachers provided their input explaining why the new building would benefit academics.

"For the last 10 years, I taught in the foyer," said Lori Martin, a physics teacher. "A physics room would be nice and a proper, safe place to store our lab chemicals. A separate geometry/math area would save us the 10 minutes we spend setting up the labs and 10 more minutes breaking it down. In a 50-minute period, that's time we're losing."

Earth science teacher Chris Ruffatto said in addition to lab space, teachers and students will benefit greatly from an upgraded heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system.

"It can get up to 85 degrees in the classroom in the fall," he said. "We need air flow."

Paulson said that over his years at the school, he has become an expert at repairing blown electrical circuits.

"The light went out for our homecoming dance," Paulson said. "When you turn on the microwave in the teachers lounge, the lights go out in the counseling offices, and there's not one working outlet in the foyer."

House said the remodeling plan is "a work in progress," still evolving as more input is received.

The board is exploring adding Mandarin Chinese and other global curriculum to the current options. Video-conferencing capabilities for the language arts has also been discussed.