Flathead County’s overall public school enrollment decreased last year while Whitefish School District’s held more steady, according to the Flathead County Superintendent of Schools 2025 Statistical Report.

In the last year, Whitefish experienced a decrease of 45 K-8 students, down 3%, for a total of 1,291 students. Whitefish High School gained 40 students, a 6% increase, for a total enrollment of 669. The enrollment numbers are as of Oct. 6, 2025. 

Over the last 10 years, Whitefish K-8 students have increased by 5%. The high school has increased by 39% with 187 more students.   

Comparatively, last year the county saw a decrease of 2% in K-8 and a decrease of 1% in high schools. In the last 10 years, the county has had a 3% increase for K-8 and an 8% increase for high schools.  

“We need to look ahead,” said Lucie Shea, Whitefish School District’s business clerk. “We know the high school and middle school enrollments are through the roof. But the elementary is lower.” 

Of note, last year Whitefish Christian Academy (K-8) saw a 14% increase in enrollment, with 17 additional students for a total of 141.  

Last year, Olney-Bissell had one additional student, a 1% increase, for a total of 96 students. Olney-Bissell has had a 20% increase in enrollment over the last 10 years.  

Overall, Whitefish’s current enrollment shows more out-of-district students coming in than those going out. 

For the elementary students transferring out of Whitefish (325 total), the majority are in private school (168), followed by homeschool (85), then Columbia Falls (26).  

For the high school students transferring out, the majority (40 out of 70) are in Flathead County district schools.  

The district is expecting a funding boost of $139,725 from the state from students transferring in.  

District expenditure per student rose by 1.32% last year. Across the county, expenditure per student rose by an average of 7.82%  

Trustee Katie Clarke mentioned a statewide lawsuit based out of Missoula regarding inequity in education.  

“There’s a big discrepancy here,” she said. “And I wonder if that’s part of what they’re looking at.” 

WHITEFISH CITY Council earlier this month approved the conditional use permit for the high school expansion projects. 

A&E Design is targeting 100% completion of construction document drawings for the academic phase on Jan. 15 and Feb. 5 for the athletic phase.  

There are fly-through 3-D digitals renderings of select views of the academic expansion design online. The links are available at wsd44.community.highbond.com 

The high school completed a fiber-optic network switchover over winter break to prepare for the expansion. 

THE BOARD approved the 2026-27 calendar. The first day of school will be Sept. 7 and the last day will be June 15. There will be a two-week winter break and spring break is March 27-31. 

Most teachers and staff voted for a calendar option with a two-week winter break, as opposed to an option with one week and three days. 

The board discussed that two-week breaks are harder for classified employees.  

Trustee Darcy Schellinger also said that hardships should be considered when looking at the calendar.  

“That’s a long time to find daycare,” she said. “It’s also hard for kids who use school for a safety place ... it’s not just time to ski.”  

THE SUPERINTENDENT search committee hired consulting firm McPherson and Jacobson LLC to conduct the search.  

“We hired a search firm because the board is in charge of hiring the superintendent, and there’s just not enough time in the day for those of us who have full time jobs, to dive through all of the applications and criteria,” said Schellinger. “We really need to hire experts, people who do this for a living, to help facilitate that.”  

Adrienne Odell, president of WEA, said that they hope the superintendent search committee considers the importance of continuing interest-based bargaining (IBB) for employees. Whitefish is fortunate to be the only district in the valley to have IBB, she said. 

Public participation in the search is encouraged.  

“It’s important to be involved in the process and be a part of the future of the district,” said Board Chair Elizabeth Pitman.  

MULDOWN Elementary Principal John Coyne is retiring at the end of the year. The district will open applications for the position soon.  

Coyne shared a positive update during the meeting. He said that they have received enthusiastic parent feedback on the early literacy program. 

“When Mrs. [Jessica] Hansen first started, she said, ‘How do we do this?’ And I said, ‘Make it your own.’ And she has done such a great job putting that program together.”  

Coyne said there could possibly be an addition for an early math program and that requirements for screening could become more flexible.  

Montana taxpayers can receive a dollar-for-dollar credit on their state income taxes for donations to public schools. The deadline to submit tax deductible donations is Jan. 20. More information is on the district’s website under news and announcements.  

The deadline to apply to be a Trustees candidate is Feb. 9. There are three seats up for reelection this spring.