Kila School Principal Jason Christy is taking a chance that the community can help raise close to $40,000 to replace the school gymnasium floor rather than go to taxpayers with a levy request or bond issue.

So far, $795 has been raised over the past few months.

Christy said the school will try to raise what it can this school year from grants, donations and crowd sourcing fundraising online. If the entire amount isn’t raised by the end of the school year, any remaining end-of-year money from the school budget will contribute to the project, along with money from next school year’s budget. Using money from the next school year’s budget, however, may require making reductions in other areas.

“We’re getting creative to make it happen,” Christy said.

The gym floor is a priority because of safety and playability. The floor gets a lot of wear from Kila School’s 168 kindergarten through eighth-grader students who use it for physical education, sports, lunch, breakfast, assemblies, programs and other activities.

The wear and tear is visible on the current flooring, which is composed of a type of plastic tile that covers an old linoleum floor and cement. The floor has little to no shock absorption.

“I cringe most times when I see an elementary school student fall,” Kila physical education health enhancement teacher Dan Trageser said. “I compare it to blacktop. The kids shouldn’t have to worry about landing on the floor and getting hurt.”

So far no serious injuries have occurred, he said.

While the flooring may have had resiliency when it was first installed, it has numerous “dead spots” where padding has worn out and balls don’t bounce, Trageser said. He has had to discontinue some activities because of the dead spots.

“We have nice pickle-ball sets, but there are now so many spots on the floor the balls won’t bounce and it’s impossible to play certain games like that in class.”

Trageser also minimizes the amount of tape on the floor for different games because when he pulls it up, the floor tiles come with.

“At this point it’s outlived its life,” he said.

The plan is to replace the floor with rubber composite flooring that will be safe for athletics and easy to clean after lunch. The goal is to have the new floor installed by spring 2017.

Donations may be mailed or dropped off at Kila School, P.O. Box 40, Kila, MT 59920. Donations also may be made online at https://www.gofundme.com/2rq2rvdc.

For more information call 406-257-2428.

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