Board approves bid for rebuild of high school gym roof

The Whitefish School District is moving forward with plans to replace the oldest section of the high school’s roof.

The Whitefish School Board on May 14 unanimously approved a base bid by Metal Works of Montana for roughly $1 million to remodel and replace the aging roof. The remodel includes the replacement of the roof over the school’s D wing and replacement of the mansard roof around the gymnasium and D wing, which was not replaced when the new school building was constructed.

Metal Works of Montana submitted the lone bid for the project. Tim Peterson of L’Heureux, Page and Werner — the architectural firm behind the new Muldown Elementary building — reviewed the bid for the district.

The project will be paid for by tax increment funds from the city of Whitefish. The new roof will provide better insulation and will retain the look of the current roof, being made of metal and the same mansard shape as the current roof, according to the district.

Construction is expected to take place this summer, and the school’s Innovation Lab and Black Box Theater will be unavailable for summer camps and programs during construction.

The school board in December approved a budget amendment that allows the district to spend their reserves for maintenance projects and use tax increment funds as payments from the city to replenish those reserves. The district set aside $700,000 in the elementary general fund and $400,000 in the high school budget.