Paradise School board looks to uphold future for building
<p>Paradise School clerk Teresa Kendall and school board chair Karval Pickering respond to a question at the meeting on Jan. 29.</p>
PARADISE - The Paradise School Board held a meeting last Tuesday night to discuss ideas and the timeline pertaining to the school’s closing at the end of the current academic year.
Emotions were high, and ideas were flowing as a group of 24 people from the Plains-Paradise community gathered in the school gym to share and vocalize their opinions about the situation to the board, and though it is inevitable that the school will close, there are options. Pickering, along with board members Sunny Alteneder and Susan Snead, hoped to share those options as well as listen to community members’ ideas.
“I’m going to be honest with you - I’ve spent over 30 years working my heart out to keep [the school] open,” Pickering said as her voice shook and tears welled up. “I can’t figure out how to close it. So, give me a hand, will you?”
The crowd responded to Pickering’s plea for support with applause and more suggestions.
One such suggestion, offered by Darrin King of Paradise, called for converting the historic school building into a community and events center, similar to what was done with the Camas Prairie School.
“We helped them out with a fundraiser, they formed a 501 c-3, and they got themselves a community board of directors,” King stated. “We helped organize a fundraiser, silent auction, they raised $8,000 for maintenance, and they set it up to where as long as an adult is present, kids can go up there to play basketball, or rent it out for wedding receptions or meetings, and this [Paradise School] is a much better property for gatherings. Anyway, that’s my idea, and I’m not going anywhere as far as Paradise goes, so I would definitely volunteer to be on any committee or whatever it takes to keep it a community place.”
Other suggestions were offered for use of the building, and then Pickering shared the options that lay in the fate of the building.
Pickering explained that the board can leave the school building abandoned for three years, and after that time, would become part of the Plains Public School District. Another option is to keep it maintained, in order to convert it to something community-oriented such as an alternative school or community park and recreation area; however, that would take funds for labor and maintenance. Currently, monthly fees for heat, electricity, security, garbage, water, and oil amount up to $3,828. And the fees and expenses do not stop there.
“Like all schools across Montana, enrollment is falling,” Pickering stated. “Ours just happened to bottom out. I guess this is one of those inevitable things. They say the one thing that is definite is that there is going to be change. This is kind of a final change for us. As heart-wrenching as it is, I think the best thing to do is go forward with a positive attitude to see what is the best possible use this building can have for the town that has supported it for over one hundred years.”
The school board plans to meet again later this month to further discuss the options and explore the suggested ideas. The meetings are open to the public, and the next meeting was scheduled to take place on Monday, February 25 at 7 p.m. in the main school building.