Kalispell Public Schools is making an offer on property located across the street from Flathead High School. 

The 0.163-acre lot at 435 and 445 Sixth St. W. includes a remodeled 576-square-foot, two-bedroom house with a 3/4 bathroom, as well as a 2,240-square-foot former commercial building converted into a two-bedroom accessory dwelling unit, also with a 3/4 bathroom. The property is owned by Lon and Rebecca Anderson of Bigfork.  

The school board approved the purchase at a price not to exceed $550,000, the current asking price. Funding would come from the district’s interlocal fund, which contains year-end money from both the elementary and high school districts. The fund totals $2.8 million.  

Trustees approved the purchase in a 6-4 vote at a March 10 meeting after extensive debate over cost and the lack of a defined use for the property.  

Under Montana law, school boards may purchase property contiguous to an existing school site without voter approval. 

Superintendent Matt Jensen said no specific plan has been developed, but the property could support future needs such as teacher housing, parking or expansion. He said the seller initially contacted the district about the property and emphasized the long-term value of acquiring adjacent land, noting Flathead High School, located at 644 Fourth Ave. W., is effectively landlocked within a residential neighborhood. 

“So if and when we talk about expansions or future needs of the student population of Flathead High School, the capacity and the limit of the footprint is always going to be an issue,” Jensen said, later adding, “Parking has been a significant issue over the years, but also just classroom space.” 

Jensen said that while the property may not have immediate use, it presents a rare opportunity. 

“These are the types of purchases that may not set up this board but likely set up the next board. So that's what I'm asking you to consider is the opportunity,” Jensen said. 

The board discussed potential uses for the property, including teacher housing, parking, or future building expansion, using Flathead’s shop building as an example.  

Trustee Jack Fallon, chair of the board finance committee, said further review of the market analysis raised more questions than answers, leading him to vote against the purchase. Fallon’s committee held a meeting on the proposal March 6.  

Board Chair Jinnifer Mariman also opposed it, voicing uncertainty about potential restrictions on what the district could do on the lot, which abuts other homes.   

Business and Finance Director Chris Campbell said the district is seeking clarification from the city but noted school districts may have flexibility under zoning rules.  

Trustee Ursula Wilde also voted against the purchase, cautioning against acquiring property without a clear purpose.  

“I have some real concern about one lot really offering us anything and I am also pretty concerned about the idea of having properties that aren’t really serving the school, be something that we’re managing and dealing with while we hold onto it,” Wilde said.    

The district already owns a house in the west side neighborhood surrounding Flathead High School, which it purchased as part of a plan to expand parking around the campus. About $1 million from a 2016 high school bond was designated to buy and demolish properties as they became available on the market.  

The plan stalled after attempts to acquire two more properties fell through, and the district started renting out the house. 

“We just haven’t found a need to get rid of it yet. It’s not hurting us to own the one [house] over there, even though it’s not serving the initial purpose that we bought it for,” Fallon said.   

Other trustees supported the purchase as a long-term investment. 

Trustee Linda Kaps said she had no doubt the district would figure out how to use the property. The opportunity might not come up again, she warned. 

“... I do have serious doubts about being able to buy that property should we want it in the future,” Kaps said. “I don’t know that there will ever be another opportunity. And I like to look to the future. I feel that’s kind of how this board has been moving anyway." 

Trustee Carrie Eklund backed the idea of using the site for workforce housing and hoped the district would begin to “build a vision” to guide a future board. 

“There are districts all over the state that do support their starting teachers with housing,” she said. “This is really exciting to me.” 

When looking at high school expansion, Jensen noted that expanding services on a single campus is generally more cost-effective than operating multiple sites. 

BEFORE THE board took a vote, Hedges Elementary teacher Shelli Hilde urged trustees to prioritize existing facility needs over acquiring property. 

She described ongoing issues at Hedges such as boiler failures. 

“I think we need to be focusing our energy back on existing buildings," she said. 

“I’m at Hedges School, for example, just this one building alone, our boiler has been broken for many years and there’s water at the bottom of our basement. We are without heat too often,” she added. 

Hilde said classroom temperatures have dropped to about 33 degrees Fahrenheit, forcing students to move to other parts of the building. 

“We’re having to take all the children out of a day of education and hang out in the gym until we can try to get heat in the building,” she said, noting that she and other teachers have purchased space heaters for classrooms. 

Hilde and Glacier High School teacher Jarret Stump suggested using other district-owned land for workforce housing. However, those properties were purchased with bond funds designated for future school sites and are restricted to purposes listed in the ballot language taxpayers approved. 

In other action items at the meeting, trustees approved hiring a special education teacher for the district’s transitional life skills program to comply with updated policy requirements to extend special education services to students with disabilities until age 22 or until they obtain a regular high school diploma, whichever comes first. Previously, special education services typically ended at age 19. 

The change follows an August 2025 federal court settlement involving  Disability Rights Montana, the parents of two students, Superintendent of Public Instruction Susie Hedalen and Gov. Greg Gianforte. 

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.