Ballots go in the mail Tuesday asking residents of the West Valley School District to approve a 20-year, $6.8 million bond request to expand the school.

Ballots will be mailed out to 2,383 active voters. Ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. Oct. 22.

The money would fund approximately 30,000 square feet of construction to accommodate rapidly growing enrollment at the school. Construction would include classrooms, multi-use areas, a library addition, auxiliary gym, and, if money is available, a kitchen renovation.

The district currently has 544 students and 58 staff members in a building meant for 470.

Between 2003 and 2012 the district grew 55 percent, according to the Flathead County 2012 Statistical Report of Schools.  

West Valley Superintendent Cal Ketchum said that in the next decade, enrollment could grown by another 200 to 300 students.

“We’re at a breaking point,” Ketchum said.

If the bond request is approved, owners of a home with a phase-in value of $200,000 can expect their taxes to go up by $154.28 annually. Owners of a home valued at $300,000 could see taxes go up by $231.42 annually.

Phase-in property values lessen the impact of property tax increases under Montana law. Homeowners who experience a higher property appraisal will have it phased in over six years. A decrease in property value, however, means that a reappraisal goes into effect immediately, according to www.revenue.gov.

Taxpayers should also note that the district plans to retire a $1.9 million bond from 2000, which affects current property owners living in the district. That bond paid for a new gym, library and six classrooms.

If the new bond is approved and the $1.9 million bond is retired in the 2014-15 fiscal year, owners of a home with a value of $200,000 could expect a net increase in their taxes of $95.52 annually, starting in 2015. Owners of a home valued at $300,000 could expect a net increase in annual taxes of $143.28 also in 2015.

From 2010 to 2012, taxes paid to the district have gone down. 

“We’ve had questions from people ‘Well, mine’s going up.’ Individually they may have gone up, but the taxes that you are paying to the West Valley School District have gone down,” Ketchum said.

As the economy improves, commercial properties continue to develop within the West Valley School District. In turn, the district’s overall taxable value has significantly increased within the last 12 years to a total market value of more than $300 million.

“As our taxable value increases on a whole, the cost to the individual property owner goes down,” Foley said.

The other side of the coin in an improved economy is an increase in residential development and possibly more students.

“The West Valley School District goes all the way up to the Stillwater Road eastern boundary and all the development on Three Mile Drive west of Empire Estates is in the West Valley School District,”   Kalispell Planning Director Tom Jentz said. “We had a building boom in 2003 to 2008. Then it went quiet during the recession. Growth is picking up again in the county, and in the city we’re seeing an increasing number of families moving in. Construction is picking up again. A lot more could come their way.”

Flathead County Planning Director BJ Grieve said there are also several subdivisions that have potential for growth. 

“Within the last three to five years we haven’t seen substantial new subdivisions, however there are many existing subdivisions with empty lots that could be filling in and since we don’t have a building department to track housing starts we don’t have a lot of good data on how those subdivisions are filling in,” Grieve said.

The Starling Development is one example. The development has the potential to build on more than 3,000 lots west of Glacier High School.

The last time the West Valley School District sought bond approval was for $3.5 million in 2010. That ballot issue was rejected by a 678-422 margin. 

Ketchum said the new bond request is significantly higher because of increased enrollment, higher cost of construction and because this project is intended to provide enough room to accommodate students for the long term.

“We don’t want to do something short-term and in the next five years have to ask for another bond. Some ask ‘Well, what’s your contingency plan?’ Our contingency plan is if it doesn’t pass this time we would run it again in the spring,” Ketchum said. “We don’t have any other space to put any classroom teachers.”

If the bond request is not approved, Ketchum said, classes would only continue to grow and may violate accreditation standards.

Property owners can view their total taxable market value online by visiting www.flathead.mt.gov/property_tax.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.