School ropes course gets reprieve

The ropes course at Muldown Elementary has been thrown a lifeline for at least another year. The Whitefish School Board Jan. 8 voted to keep the course operable while stating that use of the course needs to increase.

A group of staff members who used the course asked the board last spring to decide whether the district wanted to continue operating the course, noting that the number of staff members certified to use it has dwindled.

All fourth and seventh graders complete lessons involving the course. The course was previously used at the ninth grade level and as an elective class at the high school.

“My hope is that we can figure out a way to have it better utilized by the district and community,” trustee Dave Fern said. “We want to work during the next year to see how that can be done.”

There’s a financial obligation to maintaining the course. Yearly inspection and insurance for the course is estimated at around $3,500. In addition maintenance on the course and staff training is required.

Last spring the district began examining the ropes course’s future, a committee was formed to examine the issue. Several members of the committee spoke out last week in favor of retaining the course.

Cari Elden said the course has the potential to be used more within the school, but also for businesses doing professional team building and by the community for after-school programs.

“I hope we could rally around this valuable asset,” she said. “We would like it funded another year so we can resolve some of these issues.”

Elden, along with her husband Scott, said their business Elden Creative would donate $500 to keeping the course open. Scott Elden also asked the board to save the course.

“Having a facility is the hard part,” he said. “It would be good to have the whole student body go through the ropes course. If a science teacher leaves, you don’t end the science program — the same applies to the ropes course.”

In the past, the district would rent out the facility to various groups, thus generating revenue to cover the district’s expenses. However, in recent years, without someone coordinating this, rentals have diminished.

Tim Shaw, who currently manages the course in a partnership with the district and the city parks and recreation department, said use of the course can be expanded from what it is now.

“We’re trying to work back to where we were before use declined,” he said. “We need to look at the course as not just immediate, but what also can be used for new curriculum.”

The city is currently drafting a memo of understanding to continue the partnership between the school and city and expand greater utilization of school facilities, such as the ropes course, by the city.

Noting his background in working in outdoor education, Shaw said he has used similar ropes courses to partner with teachers for a variety of subject matter including physics.

Shaw noted that the school ropes course is different from the adventure course at Whitefish Mountain Resort in that it’s designed for an education or therapeutic use.

The school board weighed whether to put conditions on the ropes course that it become self-sustaining with use from groups outside the district. Ultimately, the board decided to reevaluate the course in a year based on it use.

Trustee Charlie Abell pointed out that because the course might not be self-sustaining doesn’t mean it isn’t worthy of keeping it usable.

“Most things in our school are judged by how much they’re used,” he said. “We don’t look at the gym as how much money it makes, but how much it’s used.”