By Brandon Walker EBS COMMUNITY EDITOR
BIG
SKY – In anticipation of continued rising student numbers, the Big Sky
community last summer proposed a project to upgrade its school buildings. The
school board selected Bozeman-based A&E Architects for the design portion
of the projects, and heard comments and suggestions from community members to
mock-up possible future facility upgrades.
Brad Doll, a representative from the architecture
firm, presented the findings and
renderings his team compiled at the Jan. 21 BSSD School Board meeting. After the
meeting, the board prepared ballot language, and then presented the idea of a
school bond vote at its Feb. 18 board meeting.
The proposed bond includes athletic facility improvements,
expanded and revised parking, and an addition off of the existing front office
area for a “STEAM” building, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering,
Arts and Math. That building would also house a career and technical education
program, or CTE.
Local residents will receive mail-in ballots
to vote on a $23.5 million bond that would fund expansion and upgrades to the
current facilities. Ballots are due by May 5.
According
to a BSSD informational pamphlet about the proposed bond, the STEAM and CTE offerings
would bolster the district’s vocational programming by introducing classes and
programs such as wood shop, video design and industrial arts.
“This lack of a CTE really is keeping us out
of providing the most well-rounded, best education you can get in the state of
Montana, and that’s almost exclusively tied to facilities,” said district superintendent
Dustin Shipman said in a phone call with EBS. He further explained that revamping
existing classroom spaces is not feasible for the intended programs, due to
health and safety concerns.
Since
Lone Peak High School opened its doors in 2009, the student body has increased
steadily. Over the past five years alone, the student count has grown by nearly
80 percent. The growth mimics that of the Big Sky community itself, and as is
the case with the town, neither the growth or the need for more space have an
end in sight.
The
school district’s informational pamphlet assumes a 5 percent growth rate over the
next 10 years, which would mean more than 600 students in the school system by
2030, a difference of more than 200 students from the current student body. The
proposed upgrades would enable BSSD to support this anticipated growth for the
next 10 years or more, according to the pamphlet.
For
context, there were only 23 high schoolers at LPHS 11 years ago. Now there are 107,
which puts the school on the verge of moving from class-C to class-B athletics.
With that new designation would come an array of required facility upgrades due
to crowd capacity requirements. Per Montana High School Association guidelines,
a school must have at least 108 students for two consecutive years to meet the minimum
requirement as a class-B school. That means that the 2021-2022 school year
would be the earliest the change could occur.
This upcoming leap to a class-B athletic
program prompted the request for a new gymnasium off of the Bough-Dolan
Athletic Center. The new facility would seat nearly 1,200 people, corresponding
with current MHSA standards for a class-B school, whereas the Bough-Dolan
Athletic Center seats only 360.
“From a community standpoint, it’s going to
open up a number of different things that we can partner [with] in the
community,” Shipman said. “Our current facilities, especially the gyms, are
booked every night, all night, even when our extracurricular activities are
finished.”
Additionally, LPHS’s soon-to-be-new fall
sport, soccer, will be playing at a class-A level, and the school wouldn’t be
allowed to host home contests without upgrading the current athletic fields,
Shipman said. “The students are thrilled that we have a soccer program now.
They’re going to be even more thrilled when we have a proper facility here on
campus to play.”
If the bond proposal passes the community
mail-in vote, the upgrades and expansion are intended to happen “as soon as we
possibly can,” he said.
