The Bigfork School Board approved a heating system upgrade for Bigfork High School during their meeting on March 21. The current estimated cost of the project is $217,729.16 and it will be completed in two phases during the summers of 2012 and 2013.

The original estimated cost was $1.4 million to replace the entire heating system.

“There’s absolutely no way we could do that, so we looked at the system to see what we could do to make it operable for the next 50 years,” Superintendent Cynthia Clary said. “Gordon (Durham, maintenance man for Bigfork Schools) does a phenomenal job and is amazing. The timing is good because lots of businesses in the area need work.”

The project will be done in phases with the initial work and purchasing of materials completed by Durham. Phil’s Plumbing of Libby will complete the project during the summers of 2012 and 2013.

The heating system has been an ongoing problem. Some of the vents are too loud to use during class, and some of the controls will say a room is 72 degrees when it is actually 10 degrees cooler.

“One of our boilers is right at 50 years old and we’ve got our money out of it,” Clary said. “It’s a testament to Gordon’s ability to keep it running.”