Kalispell Public Schools plans to put its Auxiliary Services Building on the market. 

The Board of Trustees declared the 514 E. Washington St. building as surplus/obsolete property Oct. 14, authorizing administrators to move forward with publishing a public notice of the intention.  

Real estate agent Dave Girardot provided the board with a price estimate of $700,000 to $900,000 based on comparable properties and prior to an appraisal. Girardot said he did a full market analysis for the board’s finance committee using a church, church/school building and an office building as examples of what special purpose buildings have sold, or been listed for, noting that it is difficult to find comparable properties around the valley. The East Washington Street property has a B-2 general business zoning.  

“Which is great zoning. That’s the most liberal zoning for business zoning you can get. It allows the most types of uses for that property. So, it’d do everything from multifamily to office to retail and some very light assembly, light industrial type uses,” Girardot said. 

Proceeds from the sale will be held in a reserve account for future property purchases or investment in support of the district’s regular operations.  

With questions about whether the building was initially built with elementary district or high school district funds, due to its various uses over time, the board decided to only have trustees representing the elementary district vote. The outcome was unanimous. 

The district has tried selling the building before. In September 2013, trustees accepted developer Sam Baldridge’s offer of $260,000, which at the time was $90,000 below the district’s asking price. By November 2013, that sale fell through, however, when Baldridge withdrew his offer, which was contingent on negotiating a lease with a governmental entity. 

It was the only offer made on the building after being on the market for a year and a half. The 2013 decision ultimately rested on the building’s limited commercial use and repairs needed at the time. With repairs, such as replacing a boiler and piping and asbestos removal since completed, Girardot said he thinks the building could sell in the $850,000 range in today's market.  

Before the vote, Trustee Linda Kaps inquired about the current state of the market. 

“The first three quarters were pretty bad nationwide,” Girardot answered, “... But things are really starting to come back, both residentially and commercially nationwide right now.” 

Trustee Ursula Wilde asked if the East Washington Street building could be used for any other needs, such as an early childhood program. District Superintendent Matt Jensen said it was apparent during long-range facility planning that the size of the lot is too small to operate as a school. 

BUT HISTORICALLY, the building served as a school. It was Edgerton Elementary School and then Laser School (the alternative high school before it became Linderman Education Center). It went on to house the district warehouse, now-defunct print shop, mailroom and shipping department. Most recently, it housed the nonprofit HEART Program, the Transportation Department and served temporarily as the superintendent’s office.  

The Transportation Department relocated to newly constructed facilities at 124 School Station Court in 2023. 

Last fall, the HEART Program, which serves students affected by homelessness, relocated its office and HEART Locker donation drop-off point to Elrod Elementary School, 412 Third Ave. W. It had been housed at the East Washington Street building since 2015. 

The locker, which offers students free clothing, shoes, undergarments, hygiene products and school supplies, is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. It is also open to students from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month during the school year.  

In addition to Elrod, HEART Locker donations can be accessed by students where HEART Market food pantries are located at Flathead and Glacier high schools, Linderman Education Center and Kalispell Middle School. 

“The focus of the program is shifting more toward supporting the school kids [on-site],” said district Homeless Education Liaison Natalie Molter. “The off-site location was more of a community center. We’re trying to get assistance directly to kids and doing case management at the school level.” 

The HEART Program’s drop-in learning center relocated to Christ Episcopal Church, 215 Third Ave. E. in Kalispell, down the block from Linderman. Molter said programming is available to students 13 and up, who can drop in and learn a variety of life skills from cooking to filling out a resume. Transportation to the site is available for interested students. 

DURING LAST week's board meeting, trustees also approved creating a transportation operations and accounting specialist position. The financial impact will be in the range of $49,171 to $53,726 and will come out of the transportation fund.  

There has been one staff member assigned to afternoon dispatching and the scope of work posed an unsustainable workload for the district’s transportation director, elevating the risk of service disruption, according to board documents. Jensen said the district has considered variations of such a position previously and regrets not making the recommendation a couple of years ago and prior to the departure of the previous transportation director who took a position with Missoula County Public Schools. 

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or [email protected].