LHS principal: Consolidation without bond ‘disservice’
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
December 12, 2010
Consolidating Libby’s schools from three buildings to two without a $12 million bond issue would be a bad move for the students, according to high school principal Rik Rewerts.
"It would be a real disservice to those kids to have to move into either building without doing it right," Rewerts said during a special school board session last Tuesday night.
At the start of the meeting, board chair Tracy Comeau made it clear that the decision to consolidate has been made.
"Our question at this point is, how are we going to do that," she said.
The district will ask voters in January to approve a $12 million bond issue to cover the cost of upgrades to the existing middle school and high school buildings to facilitate the consolidation of students into two campuses, one for kindergarten through sixth grade and the other for grades seven through 12. Mail ballots will be sent out Jan. 14 and must be returned by Feb. 8.
If the bond issue isn’t approved, the district will use around $1 million from its building fund to make the minimum changes needed to allow for consolidation during the 2012-2013 school year.
Board member Lee Disney called the $1 million scheme a "Band-Aid" plan.
"None of us want to Band-Aid it," Disney said. "We just don’t want to go that way."
If the bond issue is approved, upgrades at the middle school will include a new commons area and library, a new district kitchen, new loading zones and other renovations and upgrades. High school upgrades would include a new commons and auxiliary gym, a new library, a new wing for seventh- and eighth-grade classrooms with its own entrance, and improvements to the main entrance.
Without the bond issue, both schools would see some safety and accessibility upgrades, while an existing technical area at the middle school would be remodeled for classroom space and the westernmost pod at the high school would be turned into seventh- and eighth-grade classrooms. A district kitchen at one of the buildings would also be included in the plan.
The consolidation plan was arrived at through a series of workshops held last spring with guidance from contracted consultants. Board member Paula Darko-Hensler said she, like some other board members, had initially favored construction of a new elementary school, but it became clear that consolidation was the most sensible option. Even with a new elementary school, the planning process identified the need for millions of dollars in upgrades at the middle school and high school, along with surplus space due to declining enrollment.
"We cannot afford to keep three campuses," Darko-Hensler said.
The initial consolidation plan developed by architectural and engineering consultants with a committee of school board members, district staff and community members was estimated at $28 million. Paring that down to what were considered essential upgrades brought the price down to the $12 million proposal supported by the board.
"It’s a responsible plan," Darko-Hensler said. "It’s a well-thought-out plan. It’s a well-researched plan."
The consolidation plan will also help the district meet an anticipated $450,000 budget shortfall without cutting additional teaching positions, said district superintendent Kirby Maki. Instead, cuts will focus on administrators and support staff that will no longer be needed when the Asa Wood Elementary building is closed.
"It would be nice to have three schools, but it’s just not in the cards," Maki said.
If approved, the bond issue would cost the owner of property with a taxable valuation of $100,000 around $80 per year. The district’s last bond issue, to pay for additions to the high school, was approved in 1989. The bonds were paid off in 2008.
While no decision has been made about what to do with the Asa Wood building after consolidation, Darko-Hensler said the board is committed to keeping the property "in the public domain."
"We don’t plan on selling it," she said.
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Editor's Note: See the December 7, 2010 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Tuesdays, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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