Study shows young families settling in Whitefish

Whitefish School District recently commissioned a demographic study that offers some interesting — some might say surprising — insight into the makeup of our community.

According to the report — and despite anecdotal belief that we’re becoming a town of second-homeowners that’s inaccessible to young families — there’s actually a vibrant contingent of people choosing to raise their children here. In fact, a primary reason school enrollment is expected to remain steady and even slightly increase over the next decade is due to the in-migration of families to Whitefish.

The study says most of the people moving to the district are 0 to 9 and 25 to 39 years old — young adults with kids.

For comparison, most of the people moving away are 18-to-24-year-olds leaving to go to college. The second largest group of out-migrants is people 70 and older who are downsizing their homes.

The impetus of this independent study was to assist the district in planning for future growth as it explores options to rebuild Muldown Elementary. Teachers and students will tell you that Muldown is bulging at the seams at current enrollment levels, and this report confirms that scenario is unlikely to change much over the next 10 years.

While there are months of discussions ahead about what to do with Muldown, it’s smart to have that discussion founded in up-to-date research about enrollment and the demographics of our town.