POLSON - Class is officially back in session in Polson as Tuesday marked the first day of school throughout the district.
Polson is currently in the middle of phase two of construction for major additions and renovations at the high school and middle school as the new school year begins.
“So, both Cherry Valley and Linderman Elementary are finished and we’re now working on the high school, which is behind us here and the middle school projects and those have a completion date of September 2026,” said Polson Superintendent Andy Fors.
Watch to learn more about the work taking place in Polson:
Fors said the district is right on track for construction after two bonds totaling $40 million to drastically improve school buildings passed in 2023.
“So the three big focus areas for the bond were improving safety and security with our access controls, increasing capacity and making sure that we have great facilities for career and technical education,” added Fors.
Fors said a new two-story building being constructed at the high school will bring every student under one roof, while increasing classroom space.
“In this new addition behind us we’re adding about 15 classroom spaces, and those include science labs and art labs and other CTE spaces, those if we remember are to replace the modular buildings that we have here at the high school, so we have a lot of students currently outside of our building, and when this project is done we will be able to have everyone under one roof.”
Fors said the middle school is seeing major remodels throughout the building.
“The commons and foyer area at the middle school, as well as the admin building and office spaces, are improved for access control and safety and security and then there are a pretty significant number of classrooms that are getting upgraded as well.”
Polson High School Principal Betsy Wade said two fully renovated classrooms are ready to welcome students on day one.
“It was a photo finish, but we had football players helping us move things in there yesterday, our new family consumer sciences space and new life skills classroom and those are just beautiful spaces, and our teachers and students will benefit for years from those new spaces,” said Wade.
