Walls of the West Valley School came crashing down as demolition work started this week.

Half of the library on the south side of the school came down Wednesday. By the end of the week, demolition is expected to be completed on the girls locker room and physical education offices and storage area.

“I think most of that will be taken care of today,” West Valley Superintendent Cal Ketchum said Wednesday. “That’s pretty much it.”

The demolition is to make way for the school’s expansion project.

While demolition was well under way, Ketchum and other West Valley staffers, board members and business people involved in the project participated in a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday morning.

“Progress is being made and the work has started,” Ketchum said. “We are excited to see the construction begin and the crew from Swank is moving along very well on the project.”

In an earlier phone interview, board members Jane Wheeler and chairwoman Rochelle Nicholson, who are also involved with the facility planning committee, expressed excitement.

“I think the whole process has gone really smoothly,” Nicholson said.

Wheeler said she has been impressed by how professional CTA Architects Engineers and Swank have been throughout the process.

A new propane tank will be installed this week in the back of the school near the gym and will have its own access road.

“It’s in a better location. We’re not burying it because that was too cost-prohibitive. It’s being placed on steel skids and will be easier to move if we had to,” Ketchum said.

Voters approved a $6.8 million bond issue in October for the project that encompasses a 35,000 square-foot-addition. The expansion includes 15 classrooms, administrative offices, a media center, auxiliary gym and kitchen.

The impetus of the project was overcrowding due to enrollment that has grown by about 5 percent annually over the past decade. At the end of the 2013-14 school year, enrollment was at 551 students.  

Ketchum said the district is in good shape going into construction. With a project bid that came under estimates, close to $1 million has been set aside in a contingency fund.

“This is a really good thing,” Ketchum said. “It’s almost unheard-of.”

If money is available at the end of the project, plans may include upgrading the older part of the building.

The district is also waiting to hear in April 2015 if it will be awarded a $400,000 Montana Quality Schools Grant to furnish the kitchen.

The concept behind the school addition is to create a wing with flexibility and functionality in mind. For instance, the new classrooms each have a wall that can be rolled up, opening the room to a shared learning space. The facility planning committee also is looking at movable storage or locker units to allow teachers the ability to arrange their learning environments.

The facility planning team had 13 people including staff and board members. This year, the group will begin to decide on furnishings. Ketchum will attend a conference in October focused on just that.

“I received a grant to go to a conference on different kinds of furnishings and how to best utilize the space you have,” Ketchum said.

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