Elementary School project 'creeping' as construction nears

By ALEX STRICKLAND / Bigfork Eagle

A report at last week's school board meeting indicated that progress on construction and renovation of Bigfork Elementary School is close to on-schedule and that actual construction should begin as soon as school is out for summer.

Michael Jackola, the construction manager for what Superintendent Russ Kinzer called "a very complicated project," said plans for work on the site were getting very firm and that building plans aren't far behind.

The project is the result of the passage of a $5.5 million bond last fall.

Jackola estimated that the bidding process would start in mid-May, once plans were finalized and in their maximum level of detail. Because the project is being paid for by a bond, Kinzer said there is no option for budget overruns, so if bids come in high, the design will have to be scaled back.

And scaling back hasn't happen so far, as Jackola described what he called "scope creep" on the project — the growth of a design as it moves along. So far, the project has gained an additional 4,000 square feet, he said.

Kinzer said the "creep" was a natural part of a complex project and attributed some of the growth to the district's encouragment to staff and administrators to shoot high with their requests, as long as they understand that some things may not be able to be accommodated.

"We tell staff, 'Think big, dream some. Don't hold yourself back with requests on what you'd like to see in this facility,'" Kinzer said. "When you do that, you're going to have some design features that get cut."

According to Jackola, the 4,000 square feet came from administrative space — and the corresponding space above it — and requirements for widening a corridor and a stairwell to comply with fire safety regulations.

The administrative space isn't a "big office for the principals," Kinzer said, but offices to house the school nurse, resource officer, speech therapist and other positions.

The plan is for construction to start in earnest as soon as school is out and for the majority of it to completed when classes resume on September 8.

Kinzer said that the project was currently off its target dates, but not my much.

"It's going to be close," he said.

In other business at the April 16 school board meeting, Matt Jensen presented the board with research he collected concerning switching to a four-day school week. Jensen was asked by the board to collect more information on the topic after it was mentioned by another group a few years ago.

Jensen said his research showed that rural schools that had adopted the four day schedule saw reductions in transportation costs, as well as cost reductions in other areas like substitute teachers and utilities.

One school in particular that he referenced was Victor, which switched to a four-day week two years ago.

Jensen said another benefit, especially in the face of today's steeply rising fuel costs, was the decrease in commuting dollars spent by staff. That's a big deal at BHS, he said, because prohibitively high real estate prices in Bigfork cause about 50 percent of the school's staff to commute from Kalispell.

"This is a very expensive community to live in," he said.

But Kinzer said as things stand now, switching to a shorter school week isn't being considered.

"From my perspective, the only reasons to switch would be if it benefited our students and had significant cost savings," he said. "At this point I haven't seen any evidence to indicate that."

Other concerns surrounding issues like childcare and longer school days' effect on younger children were also mentioned by Jensen.

The board indicated that they would discuss the matter further at a yet-unscheduled workshop session.