Donations add up for WHS arts and tech wing

Fundraising for Whitefish High School’s new performing arts and technology center got a boost from a fundraiser last week with donations totaling $100,000 toward the project.

A self-guided tour of the new high school started the evening Monday and was followed by an event at First Interstate Bank where high school musicians performed and student artwork was on display.

An anonymous donor pledged to match 10 percent of all donations collected during the event. In addition, the Whitefish Community Foundation awarded a major community grant to the project in the amount of $25,000.

“We are getting donations from people who don’t have kids in school, but believe in the project and want a vibrant school,” said Linda Engh-Grady, foundation executive director. “This is an extra-curricular project that will make Whitefish compete with any school in the country.”

Total fundraising sits at about $1.8 million collected with another $500,000 left to raise for the project.

The $2.8 million facility will accommodate classes in music, media arts and technology, and theater as part of the new Center for Applied Media, Arts & Sciences. All totaled the new area will encompass about 12,000 square feet. It is being touted as a world-class anchor to the new high school that will attract new students and elite teachers to the district.

Superintendent Kate Orozco said the district had planned to spend $500,000 in a modest remodel of the wing, where music classrooms were previously located. However, an anonymous donor approached the district about doing a complete redesign.

“We want to develop a center that will help students understand the world they are going into,” Orozco said. “We want to provide an interdisciplinary education that will push students to be great citizens and college students.”

Engh-Grady pointed out that while larger donations tend to get the most attention, donations of all sizes are coming in for the project.

After some prompting, school board chair Pat Jarvi announced during last week’s fundraiser that she was able to donate $5,000 to the project. The sale of a family home allowed for the donation, she said.

“I was able to give more than my normal $50,” she said, quietly stepping down from the stage.

During the community foundation’s Duck Derby earlier this month, two groups selected the arts and technology wing for grants after they placed in the battle of the bands competition.

First place winning group of Maybelline Green, Cassidy Grady, and Annika Gordon donated $300. The third place group of Meta LeCompte, Cassidy Grady and Kate Ehrenberg earned $100 for the project.

“No donation is too small to be included,” Engh-Grady said. “The community support has been amazing.”

Donations are tax deductible and can be made out and sent to Whitefish Community Foundation, reference the Arts and Technology Program, P.O. Box 1060, Whitefish, MT 59937. For more information, contact the Community Foundation at 863-1781.