It's a 'Taj Mahal' high school

As a five-year member of the Whitefish School District Board, I felt there are some concerns about the present bond you will be asked to vote for that should be addressed.

The high school is not growing; in fact, we are off 15 percent in the last four years, about the time of the school bond that was not approved by our voters.

We have a design for 650 students and presently have less than 600 in the high school now. Look at housing prices and it is easy to see people who can afford to live here will be the ones without kids. This is a long-term pattern, not a short-term one.

The last high school bond election, in 2003, was for $10.375 million (voted down) and now they want $22 million with expectations of another $8 million when our bond capacity is available.

Isn't it nice how school superintendent Jerry House, our school board and Friends of Whitefish Schools can spend your tax dollars so easily. You wonder why so many teachers already don't live in our district — who can afford it?

And if the bond passes, this is one more nail in the coffin for families to live in Whitefish. I have a number of rentals, and this will add to the rents, somewhere between $10-$25 per month rent increase.

The "Taj Mahal" high school will have 46 classrooms divided by approximately 595 present students averaging 12.9 students/classroom. This ratio is unacceptable and a waste of taxpayers' money. This is based on not losing any more students, which is not the trend the past 4-5 years — we will continue to lose students.

We did have a teacher who got "teacher of the year." We should be proud of this, but I was told that this teacher's room was one of the worst rooms in the high school (C wing). Somehow, he or she seemed to do something right, being able to teach students.

Come on school board and Jerry House, give us what is needed, not this dream world we can't live in. This was not a unanimous vote by the school board. Please get back into the real working world and give taxpayers a reasonable, affordable plan, not this Taj Mahal that again will be turned down by the voters and should be. Reasonable I can vote for, but this I cannot.

Please vote "no" and mail in your ballot, because with a mail-in vote, a simple majority wins no matter how many are turned in. Vote no. Your vote is extremely important.

If you need more information please call me. Thank you for letting me share these facts and thoughts.

Phil Mitchell is a resident of Whitefish.