Montessori building still for sale

A year has nearly passed since the last classes of Flathead Valley Montessori Academy echoed through the halls of the large red building north of Somers and the school's board is still working on its next steps.

Financial strains caused the school, which had been operating since 2006, to close.

Pernell Partners, which owns the building, has had the facility up for sale since July and has not been able to sell it yet. Originally, it was priced at $850,000, which already was not going to be sufficient to recover the amount school's head administrator, Jeff Pernell, and his ex-wife and partner Stephanie Pernell invested. That price has since been slashed to $499,000, half of the property's appraised value. The property is listed with Mountain West Realty.

"It's a beautiful facility with a lot of value," Jeff Pernell said. "Now it's greatly reduced."

Previously Pernell had said the two had more than $1 million invested in the school and facility. The building was constructed around the main shell of the former St. Katherine's Catholic Church — the Pernells had the church building moved from a parcel in Bigfork now owned by Marina Cay Resort.

At this point, Pernell recognizes that market is what it is, but it's also about finding the right fit for the facility. It's an ideal location for educational activities, a youth home, camps or a church. He's had a number of people look at it, but the right match hasn't been found yet.

"We're hoping to work with an organization geared to helping the community," Pernell said.

After deciding to close the academy, the board had decided to maintain its non-profit status and provide an extracurricular enrichment program once a week. Those extracurricular activities did continue throughout the year, but may not exist this fall.

Pernell said he anticipates that the board will probably make a decision to dissolve later this year. That's partially due to the fact that there are rumors of other area Montessori schools considering expanding to include a middle school program to fill the gap from the loss of the FVMA, he said. Northing is official yet, but if that is the case, the academy would then no longer be needed.

The building, which is also available for lease, has been offered up for rent for parties, weddings and events under the name Heyday Event Center. It has been used for several concerts and is still available for weddings and other low-key events, Pernell said. The Heyday can be found online through Facebook.

For more information, call Pernell at 755-4832.

PRESCHOOL

But that red building hasn't been sitting vacant since last spring. The preschool that operated out of the building continues to do so, renting the space. It's run by a non-profit formed by parents called Lakeside Somers Montessori Co-op.

Eleven students were enrolled for the past year in the program with the same teacher the school has had, Carol Thomas. Thomas had worked closely with parents during her time with the FVMA and continued with them on this venture.

"We've had a great past year," said Andra Townsley, a parent and local business owner who is one of the leaders of the co-op. "We're looking forward to the same thing next year."

The preschool is working to build awareness of its existence and held a yard sale and open house last weekend. The school has room to enroll a few more students for next year.

"It's an amazing school in a beautiful rural setting," Townsley said.

The students range in age from two and a half to six years old. As a Montessori school, the students share a classroom and the older students are able to help teach the younger students. Townsley said this gives parents another alternative, especially when options are limited south of Kalispell.

For more information, contact Townsley at andra@tamarackbrewing.com or 249-5832.