Rain, rain, go away

POLSON — Buckets catching leaking water in the halls of Polson High School could be a thing of the past if voters approve a mill levy.

Ballots for the nearly $2.5 million mill levy were mailed Feb. 5 and are due back to the Lake County Courthouse, 106 Fourth Ave. E., Polson, MT 59860,  by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 26.

Already, one-third of the leaking roof has been repaired, along with broken ceiling tiles, Superintendent Linda Reksten said. A loan and other district dollars paid for that work, which totaled about $300,000.

However, the remaining two-thirds of the roof remain to be fixed, Reksten said.

Before the first round of repairs were completed over the past summer, school was cancelled one day because of wet conditions inside the building. So far, the repairs are helping, but rainy season isn’t here, yet, Reksten said.

The remaining work is urgent, she added. “It’s an emergency.”

To fix the rest of the roof, it will cost $563,000, money the district can’t come up with on its own, Reksten said, adding about 90 percent of state funding goes to personnel. Taxpayers would pick up the mill levy tab: For a home assessed at $100,000, the bill would be $9.19 a year; for a home assessed at $200,000, the owner would pay $18.39 per year.

Mill levy funds also will cover $997,000 in work to replace three roof-top air handling units, refurbish three interior air handling units and upgrade and repair ducting and ventilation systems. The new units are expected to last 30 years and could be installed later, but the process would affect the roof underneath, Reksten said.

Repairs and upgrades would benefit students and teachers in classrooms, especially places such as the chemistry lab and gym, where no ventilation currently exists, Reksten said.

Increased air quality also will benefit the community, who will be able to enjoy the auditorium year-round, she said.

“There’s a lot of possibility there, because it’s not just a building that belongs the the district,” she said. Community members also have a claim to the publicly funded structures. “And we want the community to use those facilities.”

Another large chunk of  mill levy funds is slated to repair the exterior building fascia and soffit, also known as the red panels around the upper portion of the building’s exterior.

Water has soaked the insulation behind the panels, Reksten said, adding heat escapes in the winter and invades the building during the summer because of the gap the panels create between the roof and the concrete.

Repairs will make the building more energy efficient, Reksten said, and estimated the district will save $20,000 a year in utility costs.

In addition to the other work, asbestos, mold and lead remediation is included in the project at a cost of $109,000.

The remaining $577,000 will go to project design, management, contingencies and fees. Work would occur over the summer when students aren’t in the building. School board members are considering using a performance contractor to manage the large project, Reksten said. Another perk of a performance contractor is that the price given at the beginning will be the only price, and the contractor will be responsible for overages, she added.

“We don’t want to go back to the taxpayers and say, ‘Oh, by the way, we need another $100,000,’” she said.

If the levy passes, the district will have 10 years to repay the balance. Reksten said the district hopes to garner grants to help pay for the levy and pay it off early.

The response to the proposed mill levy so far has been generally positive, Reksten said.

“Every one of us knows a student that’s affected by this. We want to do what’s best for kids. That’s the bottom line.”

Whether community members have kids in the school or not, the mill levy vote impacts them, Reksten said.

“Who are we going to attract to our community when we can’t even keep our schools up to speed?”