Clearing up misconceptions

I’d like to clear up some misconceptions regarding the Whitefish High School bond project:

The architectural firm that was retained to define options for the high school proposed a $7 million option for the renovation.

Neither the architectural firm nor any other professional who worked on the project ever suggested that a renovation could be done for $7 million.

Spending $7 million on the school would allow for only a cosmetic renovation, and would do nothing to solve the much more serious structural and building code issues, let alone provide our students with the type of facility that is required for learning in the 21st century. In perspective, the renovation of only the auditorium at Central School cost $5 million. It is naïve to think that any meaningful renovation of an entire school could therefore be accomplished for $7 million, and it would be irresponsible to spend money on cosmetics, only to have to deal with all of the other issues at a future date, when building costs are likely to be much higher, and where much of the $7 million that would be spent now would be wasted, since much of it would likely need to be redone during a thorough renovation in the future.

A political machine has been organized to push the bond issue.

Not only is this not the case, but one of the special elements of the bond project has been that residents from every point on the political spectrum — left, right, and center — have come together to promote what we need to do to provide our kids with a facility that will support the type of education they’ll need to compete with young people worldwide.

Whitefish High students have the best technology available.

This statement couldn’t be further from the truth. The level of technology that is currently in the high school, and the limitations on providing such technology given the need for modern, up-to-date wiring, shackle our kids with technology that was out of date years ago, and is nowhere near what is available at most schools in today’s world.

The buildings at Oxford University are still in use, and they are 500 years old.

This statement is true. The 500 year old buildings are in use - but no longer as classrooms. Many of them are now primarily as dormitories, since they are no longer fit for classroom use in the 21st century. In fact, Oxford has embarked upon a $2 billion capital campaign in order to provide their students with a 21st century education. I quote from their campaign literature, which could have been adopted for our campaign word for word:

“Oxford has to build its future in a world of unprecedented change. The challenge is great. Never before has the University’s future been so dependent on the success of a campaign. We need help to secure investment in the next generation, and all those to come.”

Let’s not put a band aid on something that needs major surgery. Let’s not be short-sighted, and deprive our kids from having a facility that will foster a first-rate and up-to-date education that will allow them to compete in the worldwide economy of the 21st century.

 — Marshall Friedman