ARLEE — Walking into school on the first day of the 2025-2026 school year is going to look a lot different for elementary school students in Arlee.
Why? Because the kids will be stepping into a brand-new building.
“We applied for an Impact Aid Construction grant. We were able to get $4 million. And then with our ESSER money, we saved a million and a half," Arlee Schools Superintendent Mike Perry explained.
However, the district needed a bit more money to move forward with the project.
In the last school election — which took place in 2022 — Arlee voters approved a $6 million general revenue bond and a $3 million impact aid bond.
"So, we went to the community and said, 'hey, can we count on you to help and support and vote in a couple of building bonds?' And so the rest of the money came up. In total, we had $14.5 million," Perry detailed.
Community members, including the Arlee School Board and Superintendent Perry, were concerned that elementary students weren’t getting the best possible environment to learn in.
"We have bathrooms that don't work. We don't have hot water in part of the building. We've been basically stealing parts from one end of the building to keep the other end of the building going,” shared Perry.
The current building was constructed in the 1930s which is why school board chair and former Arlee student Brian Johnson-BigSam said it is in dire need of an upgrade.
“We need a good environment just so the kids are willing and wanting to come to school because they're going to come to a building that is brand new,” expressed Johnson-BigSam.
Located near the baseball fields, the new school will connect with the current K-2 building. “Now, K-6 will all be together," Perry added.
When the elementary is up and running, Perry believes it will be a hub for collaboration.
"Each grade is going to have their own pod. So, there'll be two different classes, but in the same pod together and they'll be able to collaborate [since] they'll have walls in between classes that can be removed," he stated.
Perry also hopes the new building will be a home for creativity.
“It's going to have a new music room, it's going to have a learning stair where we can have morning meetings or concerts and a brand new library.”
Also, these features may attract more students into the district.
Johnson-BigSam offered, “The only way to do it is to get a new school and that's what we're doing and the community supports everything we do.”
