Choosing to commute: why some parents choose Kalispell schools

There are several reasons why residents of the Bigfork High School District attend school in Kalispell.

Bigfork parents Bob and Suzie Keenan have experienced their share of these reasons over the years.

The Keenans have had five children attend various high schools over the years.

Their youngest child, Ryan, is a sophomore at Flathead High. “Ryan made the decision for three reasons,” Bob said. These were: 1) the International Baccalaureate program, 2) a large freshman class of 400 students gave him a bigger pool in which to make friends, and 3) he wanted to compete at the AA level in high school golf.

The Keenans’ daughter, Sara, attended Bigfork all four years of high school. Kyle attended Bigfork his freshman year and transferred to Flathead for his final three years. The Keenans oldest children both attended Bigfork their freshman and sophomore years before transferring to a school in Fort Wayne, Ind., for their final two years. Bob said their oldest children had an opportunity to attend a highly rated high school in Indiana and lived with his sister during that time.

“We’ll go to the ends of the earth to get the best education for each individual child and their wants and needs,” Bob said.

For the current school year, Bigfork has a net loss of 33 middle and high school students going to school in Kalispell. The compares with the elementary having a net gain of nine students. This combined net loss of 24 students due to out-of-district attendance has resulted in the district losing $108,900 this year.

Chance Kittle, 17, is a junior at Flathead High School. He went to Bigfork High School his freshman and sophomore years and decided to transfer because of its International Baccalaureate program.

Kittle ran cross country and track at Bigfork High, but those sports are not why he switched to Flathead. Kittle explained that the IB program is for juniors and seniors. “I had a couple friends who had it,” he said, noting he really enjoys the world focus the program offers.

His sister, Valerie, attended Glacier High School all four of her high school years because of its Advanced Placement program, he said.

Bigfork HIgh offers an honors program similar to the one Flathead offers its freshmen and sophomores, Kittle said, explaining why he waited for his junior year to transfer.

Maureen Averill, board chair of Bigfork School District Trustees, said it’s not unusual for Bigfork to lose high school students. “There’s a fairly transient population of kids changing schools,” she said.

Averill said that programs attract high school students to Flathead and Glacier high schools, including the International Baccalaureate program and Advanced Placement courses, along with programs in carpentry, welding, auto shop, for example.

Marcia Sheffels has been county school superintendent going on nine years. She notes that Flathead County has open enrollment at each of its 23 schools. Sheffels believes open enrollment has thwarted efforts to bring quasi-public charter schools into the state.

Keenan, a former state senator, agrees. “In a sense it’s school choice,” he said.

Sheffels said that Flathead County’s schools have open enrollment as long as there is room. Only two of the 23 schools charge tuition for out-of-district students: Kalispell and West Valley. Kalispell charges $350 for each K-8 student per year and $150 for each high school student. West Valley charges $1,000 for each K-8 student.

Bigfork isn’t the only high school in the county that loses students to out-of-district schools. Columbia Falls and Whitefish do as well. For the current school year, Bigfork lost 57 students while Columbia Falls lost 58 and Whitefish lost 86.

Bigfork gained 24 out-of-district students (for the net loss of 33), while Columbia Falls gained 30 (for a net loss of 28) and Whitefish added 21 (for a net loss of 66). Thirty-eight students who live in the Bigfork High School District attend either Flathead or Glacier high schools, 11 are home-schooled and eight attend private schools.

Flathead and Glacier high schools combined lost 131 students but gained 192 (for a net gain of 61 students).

Other students that the public high school districts lost went to private schools or were home-schooled. There are 242 high school students enrolled in private schools in the county this year, while 105 are home-schooled.

Bigfork isn’t alone in losing high school students to Kalispell. Columbia Falls and Whitefish also lose students.

Averill said the trustees had a demographic study done a number of years ago that predicted the district would lose students and then gain some. She is encouraged, however, by the fact that Bigfork High School’s enrollment has trended upward since 2010, when it reached a 10-year low of 257 students. Current enrollment in 286 students, despite the migration of district students to Kalispell.