Visit the high school before casting your vote
I would like to invite the community to see for themselves what is being proposed in the high school renovation bond. There will be an open house at Bigfork High School at 5:30 on September 10th. If that doesn’t fit in your schedule, please, call the superintendent’s office at 837-7400 to schedule another time to see the school and get the facts. You can also go to www.bigforkschools.org and click on the bright red “school bond” link on the left side of the page. This link provides a lot of information, including financial breakdowns.
It has been said that the vocational education renovations were added to the original proposal by Mr. Jensen. In reality, these renovations were included in the recommendations the visioning committee made to the school board on May 7, and were approved by the board at an open meeting on May 27. The vo-ed renovations were always part of the proposal, and there are no plans to get rid of the wood and auto shop. High school should prepare students for the future and the vo-ed program is a very important part of that preparation.
It’s true that lowering the gym floor would make it a better facility for playing basketball and volleyball, but that’s just an added benefit, not the reason for the change. Currently there is a ramp going up to the gym. This ramp does not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and is, frankly, a hazard. Lowering the floor is a cost effective way to get rid of the ramp and help make our school safer for everyone.
The ramp is not the only thing in the school that is out of compliance. We’ve gotten by in the past by not changing anything, allowing the current conditions to be grandfathered in. However, once we start making changes, we can’t cherry pick which building codes are followed. Bringing a building of this size and age up to code is not cheap, but it is important.
It has been said that the school board is asking for a blank check. That is not true. The estimated cost for the entire renovation, including the wood/auto shop area, is $13.8 million. This includes a 20 percent contingency added by the architects to cover any unforeseen issues and estimated interest on the bond. The school board is asking for $14 million to provide flexibility in case interest rates go up before the bond is voted on. Should interest rates drop, at any time during the 20 year life of the bond, the bond can be renegotiated at the lower rate, as was just done on the bond for the elementary school.
It has also been said that a two to three year study should be done. The school paid $15,890.11, for a study done in 2007. To date $34,500.00 has been paid for the study leading up to the current bond, making a total of $50,390.11 spent on studies in the last eight years. Another, longer study, will likely provide the same information, but at a much higher cost.
Many options have been looked at to come up with this proposal. It was developed by 25 community members. Some of these community members have been affiliated with the school in one way or another. It just makes sense to have people involved in the process who are intimately familiar with the campus. In addition to these 25 people, the entire community was invited to hear what the committee came up with and offer input before the proposal was presented to the school board. These open meetings were sparsely attended, but the people who came had their ideas and concerns heard and addressed.
The process we have gone through has always been open to the public, and all the information about the proposed bond is available on the school website. I ask that rather than listen to hearsay and rumor, you read the information on the website and come to the open house at 5:30 September 10, or call to schedule a tour.
—Dana Whitney, Bigfork School Board Trustee