Whitefish High School construction over budget

Only a few months of construction work remains to finish Whitefish High School, while total construction costs for the new building still show a $236,000 budget shortfall.

The Whitefish School District board at its Oct. 13 meeting will have to decide whether to spend tax increment finance funds to make up the shortage. The district’s budget and oversight committee learned of the issue last week.

“We have to take it from TIF,” Superintendent Kate Orozco said. “We take our hits and we brush ourselves off and then see what we have left in the TIF.”

The district uses its TIF funds for capital improvements, professional development and as a reserve fund. The board last year suspended its policy to allow for TIF to be used on the building project. The district has to secure the necessary funds by major completion of the construction, which is expected to be in the next 45 days.

Trustee Dave Fern said he would like to see a plan for what it will mean to take the money out of the TIF account.

“I assume we’re going to (use TIF) because I can’t think of anything else we can do,” Fern said. “We need to know what the implications are on the other side. What we’re giving up to pay our bills.”

The shortfall is about $30,000 less than was originally estimated when the final bid package for the project was approved in July 2013. Since then savings have been found within the project, but alternatives have also been added back into the project resulting in the final number.

Project manager Dow Powell noted that the shortfall is only about 1 percent of the total project cost.

“All of those alternatives added to the original contract,” Powell said. “We’ve reduced (the shortfall) a little bit, but that’s where it will be at completion.”

The entire construction project for the new school is expected to come in at about $22.855 million. Voters two years ago approved a $14 million bond issue to construct the new school. Fundraising efforts have largely secured funds for additional parts of the project.

About 30 alternatives were added back into the project during construction and had to be absorbed into the total cost.

One of the major alternatives that was kept in the project at the time the final bid package was approved was $500,000 to remodel the gym foyer, band and choir rooms and creating a multi-purpose performance space. Another alternative that was deemed too important to cut was $90,000 for irrigation for landscaping. Other alternatives include furnishing the kitchen, equipment for a computer science room and installing underground fiber optic cables.

Powell said some of the alternatives were items that became apparent that the school couldn’t live without. Walking the halls of the school, he said, it obvious how the new building is welcoming to students and parents.

“The school is very nice, but it’s not the Taj Mahal,” Powell said. “Everybody focuses on the number, but it’s what you get — is it going to be good for the community?”

Principal Kerry Drown said a variety of people have already toured the building from parents with kindergarten students to retired folks.

“It was very eye-opening for folks to see the educational opportunities that exist and the quality of the building,” he said. “They are really impressed with the quality and the workmanship.”

Savings were also found during construction with most of those coming throughout the project as subcontractors made suggested changes.

“They were conscious of our budget constraints,” Powell said. “They often found less expensive ways to do things that would still meet our specifications.”

As an example, Powell said he recently got a credit of $90,000 for a change that was made involving wiring in the arts and technology wing.

The entire project was also aided by the sale of the Whitefish Independent High School building, which was no longer needed when the independent program relocated into the new high school. The sale netted $300,000.

The total cost of the project includes about $2.8 million for reconstruction to create a performing arts and technology wing. The school district contributed $500,000 to the remodel, and an independent fundraising campaign has looked to raise the balance of the total for that wing.

Trustee Shawn Watts said fundraising continues for the wing with some specific donations and grants anticipated to come in soon, which will contribute to the roughly $2 million already raised or pledged toward the project.