Bond ballots due back March 15

The future of Whitefish High School will be determined next week.

Voters are set to decide on the school district’s $14 million bond request to renovate the school.

Mail-in ballots are due to the district office downstairs in the middle school by Thursday, March 15. The district office will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. that day. Ballots returned by mail should be sent no later than March 12.

The bond would help finance a $19 million upgrade to the high school. The remainder of the financing is set to come from grants, the city has committed $2.5 million in tax increment funds to the project and the district plans to use about $1 million of its own TIF money for the school.

If approved, the bond request will result in a tax increase. The owner of a home valued at $200,000 would pay about $53.95 per year in additional taxes.

Steeplechase Development Advisors notes that interest rates have dropped since original projections were created for the bond’s tax impact. Original estimates, put the interest rates for the bond at 3.5 percent, but rates have since dropped to about 2.75 percent.

The result is a small decrease to the estimated impact to tax payers. Previous estimates for a home valued at $200,000 put the tax per year at $57.50.

According to administrators, the school is not only showing it age, but has also become a hindrance to learning. The high school has three wings, each built from the 1950s to late 1970s. From leaky roofs to science labs without working sinks, the school has a list of deficiencies.

Simply remodeling the school would not be cost-effective, according to the district, in part because of the school’s age and the materials used in its construction.

The proposed $19 million project would give the school district the ability to construct new portions of the school and renovate others creating a 120,500 square foot building.

In addition to the obvious upgrades and fixes to the building, the school would also be redesigned to integrate modern learning techniques. The design includes a library as the school’s technology hub, classrooms of varying sizes, dining facilities and a multipurpose assembly hall.

For more information about the Whitefish High School project, go online to http://voteyeswhitefishhighschoolbond.com or www.whitefishhighschoolfuture.com.

For those who have not received a ballot or for voter information contact the school district at 862-8640.