Part 2: This is the third article in a series profiling schools that would be affected by a Kalispell Public Schools elementary bond request. Ballots are due Oct. 4.

Hedges Elementary School is no exception when it comes to overcrowding at the elementary level in Kalispell Public Schools.

Over capacity by 38 students, the historic neighborhood school has converted closets and sections of hallways into classrooms, sensory rooms and offices.

Built in 1929, Hedges is one of two schools in the district on the National Register of Historic Places. Russell Elementary is the other. The last time any upgrades were done on the Hedges building was in 1995.

On Sept. 8, Principal Natalie Miller provided a tour of the building and provided a glimpse into these converted spaces that are usually not seen by the public, but are well-used by staff and students.

Several years ago a science classroom was converted into a regular classroom to meet growing enrollment needs. Since it had sinks, it also was used as an art room.

If a $25.3 million elementary-school bond request is passed, a portion of the money would pay to build a regulation-size gym/multipurpose area and serving kitchen at Hedges. The existing gym would be renovated into small-group learning spaces.

“Our hope would be to get our science room back and use the multipurpose room as a functional special education skills, life skills, basic skills support center as well, because right now they’re jammed into one little area,” Miller said.

One of the stops on the tour is a small rectangular windowless room. The first objects visible from the doorway are a drain and a shelving unit full of cleaning and custodial supplies that give off a slight odor of disinfectant.

Farther inside, attempts have been made to make the room more inviting. Colorful posters and artificial ivy decorate the walls in the room where Hedges Counselor Janelle Houston is sitting at a computer.

Houston said she did what she could to transform the space.

“This is my fourth location in the school and they’re always downsizing,” Houston said.

Miller said the room works, but it’s not ideal.

“She’s done a ton to make it comfortable,” Miller said about Houston. “Carpet would be nice, better lighting would be nice just to help them [children] de-escalate and be comfortable.”

In the back of the office, a metal ladder rises to the ceiling.

“Our only roof access is back there,” Miller said.

Probably the oddest-shaped room used to be a hallway. It was turned into an office and a small sensory room on the main floor and basement.

The office has a half wall. Look over the wall and you can see the sensory room in the basement. Like the counselor’s office, the sensory room is windowless and gray. The sensory room is a place meant to calm students and de-escalate an overwhelming situation. Students may handle tactile items and work off energy away from others.

Once again, Miller said the space works, but it’s not ideal.

Like Edgerton Elementary, Hedges has two super-sized classrooms (up to 35 or more students) that are taught by two teachers to meet state accreditation standards for class size. The conference room where staffers might meet and parents use for parent meetings or individualized education plan meetings was converted into a classroom as an extension of one of the super classrooms.

“They’ll come in here for small group activities,” Miller said.

The only conference room left is Miller’s office, which only holds about eight people comfortably.

As with the district’s four other elementary schools, Hedges uses hallways for one-on-one interventions or testing. District Facilities and Operations Supervisor Jason Betterley said an issue with working in the hallways is remaining cautious about not blocking access in case of emergencies and being compliant with the American with Disabilities Act.

Miller said it’s not unusual to see Basic Skills and Life Skills students using the Hedges hallways to ride tricycles for physical activity.

“One of Natalie’s challenges is she has to leave 44 inches as ADA requirements for the halls, so she has to be cautious,” Betterley said.

Between classes, the school’s hallways fill up and the noise level rises. As enrollment increases and students are packed in tighter together, the close proximity affects the students, according to fourth-grade teacher Mimi Basden.

“When kids are packed together, then behaviors explode because they don’t have their own space, their personal space and so we deal with more of that,” Basden said. “We want to have a project to work on something — they can’t go into the multipurpose room because it’s being used for classes on a regular basis.”

“We’ve lost a science lab. We’ve lost a multipurpose room. We’ve lost small areas for small groups. It’s a huge challenge,” Basden said.

In addition to Hedges, Edgerton, Elrod, Peterson and Russell elementary schools are slated for renovation if the bond issue is approved. Deferred maintenance only would be completed at Kalispell Middle School. A new elementary school would be built on Airport Road.

If the $25.3 million elementary-school bond request is approved, owners of homes with assessed values of $200,000 could anticipate property taxes increasing by $116.82 annually over 20 years.

Only residents living in the Kalispell Public Schools elementary district (not people who live in rural outlying districts) may vote on the elementary district bond issue.

Residents of the elementary district also will vote on a $28.8 million high school district bond issue. That would add another $58.46 in annual taxes on a $200,000 home.

If both bond issues pass, elementary residents could see a total property tax increase of $175.28.

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