The Columbia Falls School District 6 Board Monday night approved an $84.8 million bond request to completely remodel the high school.

The bond, if approved, would mean an estimated overall tax increase of about $498 a year on a $600,000 home and a $216 rate increase on a $300,000 home for 25 years.

But since the school’s $2.7 million bond to replace the classroom wing roof will be paid for in 2026, the net increase in taxes on the same $600,000 home would be about $388 a year.

The school board decided on a remodel of the building, which opened to students in the fall of 1959, as the option was less expensive than building a new high school.

“That’s a big number,” superintendent Cory Dziowgo said of the bond request. “But I think it gets us everything we need.”

“There’s nothing that hasn’t been looked at,” trustee Barb Riley noted.

The plan is to expand and remodel the gym and the locker rooms; add a second floor to the foyer with additional classroom and learning space in what is now the back courtyard; upgrade the heating and air conditioning throughout the building; create a new traffic flow to and from the school with a service road that will run down to Talbot Road and another road that will service the east parking lot as well. The building will also have a complete sprinkler system. The old building has caught on fire in the past and has no fire suppression system.

If the bond is approved, it sets up the district to have quality structures for decades to come, as Ruder Elementary has been remodeled and Glacier Gateway Elementary is a brand new school.

The art annex will be torn down and the art classes moved to the main building. The school will see significant security and safety upgrades as well. The school, as designed, will serve 1,000 students, so there is room for growth. Enrollment currently is about 700 at the high school.

The district had a series of public meetings before settling on the plan.

The district’s levy authority due to an increase in valuation is now over $90 million for the high school.

The district anticipates an interest rate on the bonds at about 4.25%. The county will administer the election which coincides with the general election. Ballots will be mailed out Oct. 17.