Bigfork High School's many deficiencies

By Denny Sabo

In this article I will try and highlight the serious deficiencies and shortcomings that exist within Bigfork High School that were the primary factors that motivated the Board of Trustees to ask the voters to approve the upcoming bond measure. Additionally, a short history of the school will be reviewed in order to show how little the community has spent on school structures.

Bigfork High School was constructed in the early 1960's and the 1st graduating class occupied it in, January 1964. Four years later two new wings were added. The North Wing was the gymnasium and the South Wing included new class rooms and the Library.

Since then the only significant capital improvements for the high school have been:

-$132K in April 1999 for the construction of new bathrooms and foyer

-$110K in May 2002 for the addition of gym bleachers and replacement of the gym ceiling and lights

-$104K in May 2003 for a new heating system

-$90K in May 2003 for new football bleachers.

These additions were not frills or luxuries, but necessary features for the community to provide an adequate education environment.

What was once an adequate education facility has now degraded to the point it is inadequate at best and dangerous at worst. Some of the major deficiencies of the high school are:

The Science Lab - Bigfork has one science lab for all of the science courses: Earth Science, Anatomy and Physiology, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Geology. 7 Courses with 10 - 12 different classes. The numbers don't add up. The lab is physically too small for the number of students.

The crowded conditions do not allow the teacher to walk down the aisle between lab benches to supervise experiments.

The fume hoods are so low that the teacher can not see or lecture to all of the students effectively.

Finally, a major safety issue exists. Students have been told not to use the emergency "eye wash" fountain that should be available when students accidentally get chemicals on their skin or in their eyes because electrical wiring beneath the "eye wash" is exposed!

Math Portable Building - The Math Portable building was bought 18 years ago. When it was bought it was expected to last for 5 years. It was built with a wooden foundation! The list of maintenance issues is long and getting longer; the heating system has failed; plumbing had to be replaced; ventilation ducts were replaced; water damage occurred and mold resulted. When a door is opened and closed the whole building shakes. The temperature inside frequently approximates the temperature outside. The math portables are a disgrace and not conducive to quality education.

Computer Room - The number of computers and the networking resources required to train and teach students and to support the school infrastructure has gone up tremendously. Does anyone believe that the facility that was built in 1962 adequately supports the computer requirements of 2008? It doesn't! We need a computer room and classroom that is designed to accommodate 21st century requirements.

Art Room - The Art department teaches General Art, Ceramics, Sculpting, Photography/Printmaking and Advanced Art. One small, cramped, crowded combination of classroom/project/storage room suffices for all of the different art classes. There is no room to maneuver and actually work on an art project.

Choir Room - There is no Choir room! We need one! Select Choir students have to come in at 7:15 AM in order to have access to a rehearsal area! Many kids that would like to take Choir are unable because of lack of facilities.

Lunch Room - What lunch room? The school has portable picnic tables that can seat only some of the students. The remainder sits in the hallways, on the steps, or on the floor. The lucky ones get to crowd into the "Culinary Skills and Nutrition" classroom where someone might have made brownies.

Additionally, the lunch menu for BHS is in need of expansion. BHS is the only "closed campus" class "A" school in Montana. As a result kids are not able to leave to campus for lunch and they are restricted to eating only what is offered in their non-existent cafeteria! Last week's choices began on Monday with CORNDOGS! If corndogs were not your thing that day you could have POTATO ROUNDS! Good nutrition is a necessary part of a good education.

Weight Room - I wonder if the original architects of the high school ever envisioned the gymnasium stage being used as a weight room? That is the case at BHS. Weights that roll off the stage land on the basketball court! Volleyballs being spiked in the gym sometimes wind up as retribution when they hit weightlifters in the back of their heads while they are hoisting hundreds of pounds in a "dead lift"! PE training facilities need to be segregated activities, if only for safety reasons!

Gym Locker Room Area - As the father of a male high school senior, I can tell you that anything spent on showers is money well spent! I am told that after 40 years, the locker rooms need to be replaced, and I believe it!

Aging, Decrepit, Worn-out Areas - Only a picture or personal viewing can illustrate the extent of the problems. The Bigfork Eagle will be running a photo journal of some of the most run down "features" of BHS.

BHS has some major deficiencies.

BHS's 1st graduates are now retiring. Isn't it time to upgrade the school that they first waked into in January 1964? Kennedy had just been assassinated, Johnson was the President, and Vietnam was just beginning.

We need to correct these lingering problems.

Denny Sabo is a High School Board Trustee. Next week he will examine improvements to these deficiencies in a column for the Eagle.