The Kalispell Public Schools website has a new look.

The new website went live Thursday. The address will remain the same — www.sd5.k12.mt.us — but users should delete bookmarks containing the old version of the site or they will receive error messages.

The website is in an early form and content will continue to be added in preparation for the new school year.

“By next week we will certainly have a lot more content up there,” Superintendent Mark Flatau said.

The site is user-friendly and easier to navigate than the previous website, he said. Flatau added that it is also simpler for staffers to make changes and add content.

“Which is always good,” Flatau said. “Ensuring that information is current is a challenge with any website.”

A feature of the new website will be the ability for parents or community members to tailor it to their interests — a particular school, sport or activity, for example, by registering through the website. Flatau said details on how to use this feature will be forthcoming.

Increasing costs motivated the district to enter into a five-year contract with website provider SchoolPointe.

“The yearly fee was increasing to a tune of $11,000 a year,” Flatau said of the previous website provider Schoolwires.

In the first year, the district will pay SchoolPointe roughly $10,000 for additional startup services, such as transferring content from the old site, and $5,000 annually thereafter.

“We feel that over the five-year period we’ll save $30,000 and we feel this system is much better,” Flatau said.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at [email protected].