$20,000 grant awarded for gym project

The Whitefish Community Foundation has

given a funding boost to renovation of the high school

gymnasium.

The foundation last week awarded a

$20,000 grant to the project. The high school was selected for the

Major Community Project Grant out of seven projects that requested

funding.

The Community Foundation selected the

high school project out of seven applications for the new grant

program which began last year.

“We hope by stepping forward to start

the redevelopment of the high school that the community will be

encouraged to get behind it,” said Carol Atkinson, Community

Foundation Board President.

The foundation presented the school

district Friday with the award at the Bulldog Homecoming football

game.

The project is a great fit for the

award, according to the foundation.

Through a combination of grants and

other funding sources the project has already secured $899,519. A

Montana Quality Schools Project Grant and matching funds committed

from the Whitefish Tax Increment Finance funds garnered $870,519

for the project. To qualify for the Quality Schools grant the

district was required to raise a minimum of $80,000 from other

sources.

Renovation plans for the gym include

replacement of the bleachers and hardwood floor, new ventilation

equipment, the addition of clerestory windows to provide natural

light, installation of missing emergency lights and signs and a new

scoreboard.

The gym project is part of larger plans

for redevelopment of the high school. The district Friday also

unveiled a new design for the high school remodel.

Funding for the award comes from

interest from the foundation’s Permanent Endowment Fund, a gift

from the Kramer Family Fund and private donations from the

community.