The state of Whitefish High School

Whitefish High School is showing its

age.

A walk through the school reveals the

obvious — long halls lined with worn lockers and classrooms without

windows that seem dull and dreary. Large garbage cans in the

hallways sit waiting to catch drips from a leaky roof.

Less obvious are the science labs

without working sinks. The lack of emergency lighting or sprinkler

system. A science classroom has a non-toxic, but concerning “brown

ooze” that seeps up through the floor at night and is cleaned each

day before students arrive.

These are just some of the reasons the

school district is proposing a $19 million renovation to the

school. The project would be a mix of upgrades and new

construction.

On a recent tour of the school,

Superintendent Kate Orozco noted the obvious leaks and even the

musty smell in one classroom closet.

However, what Orozco speaks most about

is the hindrance she feels these conditions have to creating a

great learning environment. A place where an English class and a

social studies class can come together to study global rights.

“We don’t have the space to put two

classrooms together,” Orozco said.

The high school was built in the 1950s

and late 1970s when teaching meant standing in front of the room

giving a lecture. Modern learning involves students collaborating

in small groups and using technology in ways that are difficult

when computers are located in a separate room down the hall.

In one science lab, only half the sinks

work and the equipment is more than 30 years old. Student desks are

squished to one side of the room with little space to walk.

“Our teachers are sitting on the edge

waiting (to implement new ideas),” Orozco said. “We need to give

them science equipment to do research.”

Principal Dave Carlson sees the need,

too. He also wants teachers to have enough space to work together,

and thereby improve the curriculum.

“Our teachers are asking for it,” he

said. “This building becomes inflexible. The new design allows us

to change and move on.”

The school district’s consultant on the

project, Steeplechase Development Advisors, have been studying the

school and created the design for the proposed upgrade. With an

office in the school, Chris Kelsey and Bayard Dominick with

Steeplechase know the building’s challenges well.

Kelsey points out that heating and

cooling throughout the facility is uneven. Rooms to the north might

have frost on the windows, while others, like computer labs, easily

become overheated by afternoon.

“You have one side where students are

wearing coats and across the hall it’s 95 degrees,” Kelsey

said.

The school isn’t up to modern

earthquake codes, there’s a lack of handicap accessible facilities

and the emergency lighting and fire systems both need work, he

noted.

“I don’t think it’s unsafe to be here,”

he said. “I wouldn’t worry about sending my kids here, but the

district could be forced to do some of these upgrades. That could

cost a lot of money that would take away from money for teaching

and learning.”

In addition, there are issues with

performing only upgrades in certain areas of the school.

For example, the brown ooze leaking

through the science classroom floor can’t easily be fixed. It’s

nearly impossible to reconfigure classrooms in much of the building

that has cinder block walls.

“As soon as the work starts, it

cascades,” Kelsey said. “To fix the pipe we have to tear up the

whole floor.”

Past comments have been made that the

school’s deficiencies could be fixed with a $7 million

renovation.

Kelsey said that amount of money only

allows the school to install some new windows, some lighting and

fresh paint. It doesn’t cover heating and cooling issues, fire code

and safety issues. It doesn’t take care of plumbing issues. It

wouldn’t address educational issues or a new floor plan.

The proposed $19 million project would

give the school district the ability to construct new portions of

the school and renovate others. Under the new design, the A and C

wings, which both house classrooms, would be demolished. The

B-wing, which is the gym and music/shop/art areas of the building,

would be renovated.

In addition to the obvious upgrades and

fixes to the building, the school would also be redesigned to

integrate modern learning techniques.

The school district envisions a high

school with classrooms of varying sizes for flexibility. A place

where technology can be integrated into the classroom including a

one computer to one student ratio.

“Now there’s no room for (those

computers),” Kelsey said. “There literally isn’t the physical space

for that.”

Modern learning is about students

learning to be problem-solvers and not just regurgitating

information, Orozco noted. Classrooms need to have the space for

students to gather together and foster those skills in a place

where technology is available instantly.

“Teachers can’t do that when they’re

fighting light switches,” she said. “Our teachers are excited about

the possibilities, but it doesn’t work when you want to pursue an

idea with a class of kids and you have to take them down the

hallway to a computer lab. Those computers need to be right there

so you can access them on the fly.”