Libby schools improvements underway

The Libby Public Schools building reserve levy is now being put to use.

According to Superintendent Craig Barringer, the district received the money reserve in November, 2016 and commenced projects around the schools in December.

Libby area voters in May narrowly approved a ballot measure authorizing a five-year, $4.1 million building reserve levy. The levy was projected to increase annual property taxes by approximately $97.20 per $100,000 of market value during the five-year levy period.

The school district’s infrastructure became more and more of a pressing issue in the past few years. After a study of the schools ranked it their infrastructure “poor” condition, the district had no other option than going to the taxpayers.

In March, the campaign for the four-year $4.1 million levy was initiated, receiving mixed views. On one hand, some felt that a few of the items on the district’s list were unnecessary, on the other hand some voiced their approval of the levy.

In Montana, the burden of school improvements fall on the taxpayer.

This means that schools with a higher tax base — like schools situated in the eastern oil-rich towns such as Baker — have an easier time funding projects than schools in the western half of the state such as Libby.

“A lot of states in the western part of the state, particularly the northwest, struggle with infrastructure,” Barringer said. “In places where they can pay for improvements, they’ve done a pretty good job of upkeep. In places where they can’t pay for them, they really are struggling to keep up.”

Barringer said every dollar from the levy will go towards infrastructure.

Some of the changes will be noticeable, but for the most part, Barringer said people won’t be able to see some of the improvements if their done correctly — such as the biggest-ticket item on the agenda, roofs.

“I think when the taxpayers see what we’ve been doing in the end, they’ll be proud of what we’ve accomplished,” Barringer said.

The first phase of the project is already underway, with the recent installation of LED lights in the high school gym, elementary school gym and throughout the schools by staff working in after school and on weekends.

February is the tentative scheduled time for water conservation work throughout the district. This includes the installation of new toilets and sinks in the schools.

Barringer is hoping the new maple gym floor will be completed by graduation. The current gym floor is over 40 years old. Originally, they thought that they would have to tear out the original gym floor, but they’ve found that the original floor is stable enough to hold a new floor on top of it. The new floor will be last around 50 years and be more shock absorbent, and with that more conducive to students’ health.

“There’s more than just wood to them,” Barringer said. “The last school I was at, we put in a new floor, and the kids felt like they were in better shape.”

They are planning on replacing some of the windows through the district this spring. The replacements are mostly in the elementary school where they have many single-pane windows.

Phase two of the improvements include new roofs, replacement of lockers, new corridor flooring and replacing the culvert next to the elementary school.

Some of the tile flooring in the school are worn down to the cement, and they expect to replace flooring in the hallways over this summer with either carpet or tile. The floors, like much of the schools’ infrastructures, is original.

Roofs are the highest priority for the schools, and are the expense that every other project is planned around.

As of now, a schedule for replacing the parking lots is up in the air. It may happen this summer if they’re able to secure the necessary resources without having to ship from Kalispell, otherwise it may not happen for another year.

Most of the lockers at the school don’t fit some of the student’s textbooks, and every year the maintenance crew has to repair them, Barringer said.

The schools have a budget of $65,000 for the new lights, $1,613,491 for the roofs, $238,240 for the gym floors, $57,200 for the lockers, $700,000 for the corridor flooring and $170,000 for the culvert. With the exception of the culvert, the estimate for each of these costs is higher than their budget.

Phase three of the improvements includes replacing and repairing parts of the parking lots and sidewalks with a budgeted cost of $277,000.

They are also expecting to receive a grant, called the Montana Quality Schools Grant through the Montana Department of Commerce, of $1,075,000 to replace the elementary school heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

“They say they’re going to fund it, but you never know,” Barringer said. “Last year we were one of 54 schools that they were going to fund, and they didn’t fund any of them.”

Barringer said that this year they’re ranked fourth out of just nine schools to receive funding.

With a potential grant of $1,075,000, that puts their total budget at $5,265,931

The levy, at the full $4.1 million, will cost taxpayers $89.30 per year on a home with a taxable value of $100,000. The bond would be satisfied completely in five years.

When asked what the potential negative impacts would be if the school didn’t have the mill levy, Barringer said, “Well, you have to have school. We would be spending a large amount of money putting bandaids on issues and they just get bigger and bigger and bigger. That’s what we’re doing right now. Our kids would be educated in a substandard environment, and you know what — they’re better than that. They deserve to be in a place that they can walk in and be proud of. Not one where they worry about mold issues or concrete floor. No kid can build up pride in a place like that.”