After months of debate and controversy, the Glacier Applied Learning Center was voted down as Kalispell voters rejected a plan Tuesday that would have levied $5.6 million to build a facility near FVCC. After being voted down last May, District 5 switched voting methods by going to a mail ballot system. Although 75 percent of the registered voters sent in ballots — meeting one of the goals of the project, namely getting over 40 percent of registered voters to send in their ballots — the issue was defeated, 8,664 to 3,962, a ratio of more than 2 to 1. “I don’t think our kids should be penalized just because they live in the Flathead Valley,” said Carol McGuire, a District 5 school board member and supporter of the GALC. “I feel that we’ve done everything we can.” Debate surrounded the learning center proposal from the start. Three weeks ago, a group of individuals in the community, lead by Semitool president Ray Thompson, published an ad in The Daily Interlake opposing the project. Thompson also proposed using Semitool facilities as an alternative to the GALC. “I would hope the doors are open to (Semitool),” said Jack Fallon, a school board member who vocally opposed the project. “The exciting thing now is that we’re in a situation to plan things out.” |
