Kalispell Public Schools are trying to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to seeking out land to build schools as overcrowding continues to affect the district’s five elementary schools.

Although the district has purchased property in south Kalispell as the future site for an elementary school, “we always have our nose to the ground” for new sites, said Superintendent Mark Flatau, referring to the scarcity of properties large enough for school buildings.

“We continue to look for property because that’s one thing we can’t produce. That doesn’t mean we can always pull the trigger on it from a financial standpoint, but we’ve been in discussions with developers on the north end as well as far as property availability,” Flatau said.

Growth at the elementary level is a trend that continues, as demonstrated in the official enrollment count taken Oct. 5.

The district is particularly watching kindergarten through second-grade enrollment numbers because state accreditation standards limit class sizes to 20 students and classroom space has run out.

An enrollment bubble remains at second grade, where there are 35 more students — enough to fill almost two classrooms — for a total of 367 second-graders. In kindergarten, there are a total of 339 kindergarten students, up from last year by 16 students.

“Kindergarten is the second largest grade level next to second grade,” Flatau said. “This year was a significant increase and if we continue to see that, then those numbers are going to continue to move through the system resulting in more overcrowding.”

First grade actually decreased from this time last year by 42 students for a total of 330 students.

Class size is less of an immediate concern in third through fourth grade, where state accreditation maintains that 28 students can be in a class. These grade levels actually experienced decreases. Third grade decreased by 11 students for a total of 316 students and fourth grade by 23 students for a total of 327 students.

“We certainly have a little more breathing room there because based on accreditation we can put more kids in the classroom. It certainly helps,” Flatau said.

Fifth grade increased by 40 students for a total of 323 students.

Despite decreases, there was a net gain of 16 students in kindergarten through fifth grade and if a new school goes into south Kalispell, Flatau said it can only be expected that more residential areas will be developed with the potential to bring in more young students.

“Certainly I think we’ll see, when a school goes into the south end, something very similar to what occurred when Edgerton was built. Those were all wheat fields before Edgerton was built,” Flatau said,referring to the built-up neighborhoods surrounding Edgerton on Whitefish Stage Road.

For years, the district has dealt with overcrowding in kindergarten through second grade by creating “super” classrooms. Super classrooms were started in the 2012-13 school year at Peterson and Edgerton elementary schools. By the 2013-14 school year, four new classrooms had been built and were quickly filled.

Super classrooms remain as the district’s strategy in accommodating more students until a new school is built. Today, there are six super classrooms spread throughout the district.

“We have no more classrooms left in the system; all we can do and all we have done to manage the numbers is go to supers,” Flatau said.

Between 30 to 38 students make up a super classroom. Although the classrooms are filled above state standards, they meet accreditation needs because they are team-taught by two teachers, which establishes a smaller student-to-teacher ratio.

Although they are meeting accreditation, some of the super classes are fitted into a classroom meant for a standard-sized class.

“You create super classrooms even though that classroom (according to accreditation standards) should only hold 20 people and we have 35,” Flatau said. “OPI (the state Office of Public Instruction) doesn’t make any requirement in regard to square footage; it’s basically a student-to-teacher ratio, but when it comes to capacity of a classroom that’s basically how you determine it.”

Four of the six super classrooms are at Edgerton. At a facility planning committee meeting in September, Edgerton Principal Merisa Murray showed a standard kindergarten room that was made into a super classroom and talked about how teachers have to get creative with furniture arrangement. Murray also talked about the impact of large classes on the building — roughly 50 children in physical education class at once, students attending lunch in waves and heavy traffic during pick-up and drop-off.

At Peterson, super kindergarten teacher Courtney Westphal has been afforded with a classroom larger than a standard-sized one to accommodate 34 students. Westphal, who co-teaches with Makayla Darrow, noted the positives in sharing responsibilities of instruction, planning and assessing with another teacher.

“What I’m seeing is more positives. I think our students get more attention than the traditional classroom because we are able to differentiate,” Westphal said.

Westphal said she also gets many class volunteers who help out and are curious on how teachers manage a classroom with that many students.

“I think every teacher would tell you we would need more space, but that’s not an option right now, so we have to make due with what we have. We do it because that’s what we have to do and we don’t have another option and our students need everything we can give them,” Westphal said.

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.