Canyon parent group considers split from School District 6

A group of parents in Hungry Horse is circulating a petition to support the secession of Canyon Elementary School from School District 6. If successful, the school would transfer to West Glacier School District 8.

“Basically we’re just a couple of moms trying to figure this out,” said Jamie Foster, who lives in Hungry Horse and is spearheading the possible property transfer to School District 8. “We still have more questions than answers. We’re not mad at School District 6, we’re just looking at our options. We’re feeling out the community.

“We’re telling the public that this is our only option to keep the kids in the Canyon. It’s up to the voters. We’re being really upfront with anyone who is interested that we don’t know whether the kids will end up in the Canyon building or not. I’m hoping after Christmas that we’ll have lots of concrete answers.”

Jennilee Burke reiterated Foster’s sentiment.

“We’re not doing this out of spite,” Burke said. “We understand that they can’t afford to keep the school open. It’s not about the district, it’s about the kids.”

Foster and others have gathered 300 signatures in support of a property transfer since Nov. 2. The group needs 850 signatures before it can approach the West Glacier board.

The parents have cited a number of reasons for a property transfer. A document the group has circulated lists the reasons:

• “The entire Canyon would be unified by one elementary school district, allowing our children to attend school in the Canyon.”

• “The children would not have to be bused through Bad Rock Canyon to attend school in Columbia Falls.”

• “All of our tax money (including levies) for elementary education would be spent on schools in our communities rather than schools in town, therefore our property taxes should decrease.”

• “We will hopefully be able to keep Canyon Elementary open and continue to educate children in that building, if not they would attend school in West Glacier.”

• “The Canyon would be permanently separated from Columbia Falls district and they would never be able to threaten the closure of our school again.”

• “We will have more of a voice in our children’s education.”

• “West Glacier Elementary has higher test scores and more opportunities than the larger schools in Columbia Falls.”

• “School and class sizes will remain smaller here than they would in Columbia Falls.”

The document also lists complaints against alleged comments made by the School District 6 Board of Trustees, which reads: “They have made comments at board and public meetings such as: We get our information from local bars. We are just ‘stupid people with stupid comments,’ they can’t keep ‘flushing money down the toilet’ by keeping the Canyon open, our superintendent stated at a public meeting that he would retire before he would come back to the Canyon and hold another public meeting.”

The group, however, faces significant challenges on the route toward annexation by School District 8.

Flathead County Superintendent Marcia Sheffels said a property transfer is likely a long shot.

“They’re a group of very dedicated but concerned parents,” Sheffels said. “What they’re trying to do is very difficult. School district boundaries were established really before the county boundary was. That property, the taxable value was assured. It’s a piece of funding the district could always depend upon. Taking land away from one district and giving it to another is a win-lose situation. Schools by necessity have been very possessive of property in their boundaries. Transfers have been done (in Montana), but one school will always lose.”

Sheffels’ main concern is making Canyon Elementary School contiguous to the West Glacier district line. Currently, the line between districts 6 and 8 lies just west of Lake Five. To make Canyon Elementary contiguous to District 8, all properties that lie in the seven-mile stretch between Canyon and the district line must be transferred to School District 8.

“It would be a long and tedious procedure. We’re talking about years,” Sheffels said, adding that for a piece of property to be successfully transferred to School District 8, the property must have school-aged children living on it.

Canyon Elementary is slated to close at the end of this school year due to budget cuts.

Provided Foster and supporters can drum up 850 signatures, West Glacier would have to approve annexation, followed by approval by School District 6. The county superintendent may also weigh in to determine the prudence of such a decision.

Dustin Zuffelato, the School District 6 business manager, said he has done some preliminary research about the cost of an annexation and there are several main issues facing the beleaguered elementary school.

“It now costs $760,000 to run Canyon (Elementary),” Zuffelato said. “The students there don’t support the cost.”

The school currently receives about $380,000 in state funding based on enrollment. However, funding from enrollment historically does not make up the entire cost of Canyon Elementary, Zuffelato said. More than $250,000 to operate the school is generated from enrollment in the other District 6 elementary schools. If a territory transfer was successful, the additional funds necessary to operate Canyon Elementary would be generated by a levy on Canyon and West Glacier taxpayers. Canyon funding is currently spread out over all District 6 elementary district taxpayers.

Were Canyon Elementary to join School District 8, the students would bring that $380,000 to West Glacier’s $217,000 state funding. But $599,000 to operate two schools is still far less than it cost District 6 to operate just one school.

“The number of kids there does not support the cost to operate it,” Zuffelato claimed. There are currently 86 students enrolled at Canyon Elementary.

In addition, West Glacier’s local levy would likely increase by more than $120,000 to support Canyon Elementary. Zuffelato questioned whether taxpayers in District 8 would take kindly to such an increase in their taxes.

Canyon taxpayers would also have to assume roughly $800,000 in District 6’s bonded indebtedness. The law is vague in that regard.

“If I read the statute correctly, the new territory assumes the current district’s debt,” Zuffelato said. “They would have to pay for their share of the debt.”

Canyon and West Glacier taxpayers would assume the debt if they merged.

Finally, the district transfer must occur by Dec. 31, 2010.

“I understand where the Canyon is coming from,” Sheffels said of the looming closure. “They have a good program, good staff and good administration. But Columbia Falls has to do what it has to do to maintain its budget. I have never heard anything negative about Columbia Falls’ schools or curriculum, or about West Glacier.”

Should Canyon Elementary successfully transfer to District 8 in the future, other issues concerning busing and junior high school attendance would arise. According to state law, School District 6 would not be able to bus Canyon junior high students to Columbia Falls, as the new school district, which would be K-8, would not pay taxes in support of Columbia Falls Junior High School programs. District officials said this could affect the enrollment of Canyon students at the junior high.

But West Glacier school board trustee Casey Heupel said it is not a good time for School District 8 to consider annexing Canyon Elementary.

“This year, the way the legislative session is going to be, there’s a lot of variables,” Heupel said. “The state might force consolidation. What’s being talked about is that all elementary districts must be attached to a high school district. We may have to close our district one way or another. I can understand they want to keep their school open, but it’s not good timing. We’d like to keep our school open, but it might be decided for us.”

Heupel said there are many unknowns in a possible annexation, which gives District 8 pause.

“Taxes would have to be reassessed. Taxes may go up or down,” he said. “They’re assuming the Canyon school (building) would stay with District 8, but Columbia Falls says the school building stays with them. If our district would accept a request to re-district, it would be difficult to say our district would buy the building from (District 6) when we already have a school up here (in West Glacier).

“This is a really big undertaking. I don’t think it would be a quick decision. It’s probably going to catch the local taxpayers up here in West Glacier off guard.”

Ultimately, the decision rests with the county superintendent.

“I’m not sure it’s the academic education we’re looking at,” Sheffels said. “We’re looking at convenience. Busing (children) isn’t necessarily going to interrupt (quality education). Parents make the decision where they live. It has reached an emotional pitch. We need to take a deep breath and ask, ‘What’s best for the children?’”

For parents seeking more information, contact Flathead County Superintendent Marcia Sheffels at 758-5720, the Montana Schools Boards Association at 442-2180 or Leanne Kurtz, research analyst for the Montana Legislature’s Education and Local Government Committee at 444-3593.