Voters on May 8 will decide fate of school board's $51,000 request

The Daily Inter Lake

The Kalispell school board approved a high-school levy amount of more than $634,000 at its regular meeting Tuesday night.

If passed, the levy, which will cover operating and maintenance costs at both high schools, will increase annual property taxes by about $40 on a home with an assessed market value of $200,000, or about $20 on a home with a $100,000 value.

At the elementary level, officials are proposing a nearly $51,000 levy. The board is expected to set the exact amount in March at its next regular meeting; the levy's value could be influenced by proposed bills before the Legislature that include, among other things, plans for all-day kindergarten.

Officials don't expect the proposed levy amount to be too far off the mark, however.

"There is a lot of estimating and guessing as to what may or may not happen," District Clerk Todd Watkins said, "but I think we've got a pretty good sense of where we're at with the process."

The public will vote on the levies May 8. Also on the ballot will be candidates for three school-board positions, as terms for elementary trustees Anna Marie Bailey and Don Murray, and high-school trustee Bill Sutton all expire this year.

The board also discussed restricted campus recommendations for Glacier and Flathead high schools. Glacier Principal Callie Langohr recommended only juniors - and, beginning in fall 2008, seniors - be allowed to leave campus for lunch.

The school's food court will be able to seat about 360 students, she said. With two lunch periods and about 920 students, Glacier can't keep all its students on campus for lunch as the schedule exists now.

"If you just look at the math behind it, the answer is clear - we don't have the capacity to have a total closed campus for all grade levels," Langohr said. "We just physically are not going to be able to do it at this time."

Flathead Principal Peter Fusaro recommended a similar plan for his school. Currently, all students can leave campus for lunch, but Fusaro is concerned about what might happen next year when freshmen are added to the mix.

Freshmen don't drive, he said, so students might end up piling into cars in an unsafe manner.

"They're used to not having open campus anyway," he added.

Flathead's food court originally was expected to open in December but may be ready when school opens in the fall.

Even when it's finished, however, it can't accommodate every student. It was designed for the 1,250 students currently there, not the 1,650 expected to attend Flathead next year.

The school may go to three lunch periods to better accommodate everyone, Fusaro said. If it does, Glacier may follow suit to keep the schools' schedules similar.

If Glacier does implement three lunches, the board suggested making it a closed campus, at least for next year. Its needs are different from Flathead, Sutton said. He particularly was worried about the intersection of West Reserve Drive and U.S. 93 and that increased traffic would put the students in danger.

Other board members also expressed concern for students' safety.

"It seems to me that it's always easier to relax your rules than it is to tighten them," board member Tony Dawson said. "I think keeping a total closed campus should be the goal."

If the school does so, however, Langohr anticipates a number of angry students. Superintendent Darlene Schottle agreed.

"I think that could be a very political hot issue," she said.

Also at the meeting:

. The board approved paying $12,000 in dues to the Montana Quality Education Coalition for 2006-2007. The coalition is the education group suing the state about inadequate school funding. The board has postponed approving paying the dues since July, when it was concerned about last spring's failed levy.

Some board members worried about approving the dues on the eve of another levy but agreed that, in the long run, it would save taxpayers money. If schools can get funding through a more predictable, consistent formula, Murray said, maybe the district won't have to try to pass a levy every year.

. The board approved Aug. 11 as the date for Glacier High's dedication ceremony.

. The board heard a presentation on Glacier's telephone system but will vote on the bid at a later meeting. Two vendors have submitted bids for Glacier's Internet protocol phone system, both of which are under the $90,000 budget.

. Band director David Barr played a CD recording of "Go Glacier," an original composition written by longtime Kalispell musician Don Lawrence and the new high school's fight song.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.