A new high school in 4 years

Whitefish Pilot

Efforts to get a new high school building built in Whitefish and to create a strategic plan for "21st Century Learning" was kick-started at a community meeting in the Whitefish Middle School auditorium on May 27.

School superintendent Jerry House, school board trustees, administrators, teachers, parents and students presented a wide variety of information, from how the two efforts will be developed and promoted to personal testaments about the school district's educational successes.

"The board has made a decision to move forward in planning for a new high school," House said. "Remodeling is now out of the question."

A timeline for the high school's design and construction has been established, which takes into account the recent retirement of Whitefish High School principal Kent Paulson:

- First three months — the board will formalize its decision, authorize a study and begin exploring project designs.

-Next 12-18 months — identify an independent project designer, establish a local research and development team, look at the budget and bond needs, hire an architect and finalize plans.

- Four years later — move into the new building.

"The board looked at remodeling or new construction," House explained. "I recommended new construction, and the board agreed."

School district trustee David Fern said the board wanted to build a new high school near the current one so students would not be interrupted during construction.

He noted that under the current economic recession, now is not the time to run a bond election. When the time is right, the board will ask voters to commit to a 20-year payback.

Voters turned down a $21.4 million bond election for a major remodeling of the high school facility in April 2008. The vote was 2,551-1,796, with a 61 percent voter turnout. That plan called for increasing the size of the current school from 107,503 square feet to 163,848, with more than half being new construction.

The current proposal also calls for green design elements — from energy efficiency to material choices.

"The expectation in the U.S. now is that new school buildings will be green," Fern said.

A new high school should be healthy for students and staff, have a small footprint, anticipate future needs, provide security and new technology, and "it should look good," Fern said.

"We already went through that exercise, but we'll do it again," he said.

Several speakers addressed the well-known concern that students were leaving Whitefish for Glacier High School, the brand new 242,665-square-foot facility in Kalispell.

Joan Vetter Ehrenberg, who said her middle school daughter asked her to get involved in the high school issue, said that soon after she learned about students leaving for Glacier High, she got together with Toby Scott to promote a new high school here.

The two formed PAWS — the Positive Alliance for Whitefish Schools — to spearhead a grassroots effort. The group has conducted a survey of students and parents that has seen early, positive results, she said, but she is concerned about whether the school district can hold enrollment over the next four years until a new high school is completed.

Some short-term fixes are needed until then, she said — particularly providing food services so the high school can have a closed campus during lunch. Noting that a "cafetorium" could cost $1 million and then not be needed four years later, Ehrenberg suggested the school collaborate with a nearby church that already is providing lunch for students.

Chris Clark, the junior editor of the Bulldog Breeze, said the issue of students leaving for Glacier High provides "an excellent opportunity" to get people together to look at the situation.

While House agreed that the school district is taking a 'stronger focus' because of Glacier High, he hoped that it would not turn into a "Whitefish versus Glacier thing."

Instead, he said, the community should work together to get a new high school built and to implement needed educational programs, including "21st Century Learning" and Freshman Academy. He called on the public to help out by joining PAWS or by providing input to the school district's research and development team and the Whitefish High School Facility Committee.

The school district will soon post its strategic plan on its Web site, at http://wfps.k12.mt.us. PAWS will post its survey results on a future Web site. People can contact PAWS by e-mailing paws4wf@gmail.com or by calling Ehrenberg at 862-4942.