Measure 26-210
BALLOT TITLE
Authorizes General Obligation Bonds for School Security and Facility Improvements
Question: Shall the District issue $65,000,000 bonds for school security and facility improvements and receive a $7,494,690 State matching grant? If the bonds are approved, they will be payable from taxes on property or property ownership that are not subject to the limits of sections 11 and 11b, Article XI of the Oregon Constitution.
Summary: It is estimated that this measure would not increase current tax rates due to the expiration of existing debt.
The State awarded Centennial School District No. 28Jt a $7,494,690 matching grant if the bonds are approved. If bonds are not approved, grant funds will be distributed to another district.
If approved, the bonds will fund school facility capital projects, including:
- Repairing and replacing roofs, boilers, foundations, windows and flooring, and other school facility improvements
- Upgrading school safety and security systems
- Adding gymnasiums to four schools that have no dedicated gyms
- Repurposing Oliver Elementary back into a middle school, including library, science, locker rooms and career technical improvements
- Refinancing existing capital obligations and paying bond issuance costs
Bonds would mature in 30 years or less from issuance date and may be issued in one or more series. The existing tax rate of approximately $1.19 per $1,000 of assessed is projected to continue with no expected increase. Actual levy rates may vary based upon interest rates incurred and changes in assessed value.
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
The average age of Centennial School District’s ten schools is 55 years old. There have been no bond-funded renovations, upgrades or improvements to schools since 2001. This measure would fund renovations and upgrades.
A community-based Long-Range Facilities Planning Team recommends a bond measure to address facility issues and make improvements to support student learning.
Proposed projects include renovations to extend the life of buildings, improve efficiency and address student safety and instructional needs. If passed, the District would be awarded a
$7,464,690 State matching grant.
If approved, the bond measure would:
- Make improvements at all traditional schools, including renovating and replacing school roofs, boilers, foundations, windows and flooring. These projects would create operational savings and efficiencies by upgrading HVAC systems, lighting fixtures and plumbing. District is working with the Energy Trust of Oregon to obtain advice and added funding for these projects.
- Make safety and security improvements including upgrades to intercom systems, exterior doors, and exterior camera systems for student and staff safety.
- Add gymnasiums to four elementary schools that have no dedicated gym space to meet new State P.E. requirements.
- Repurpose Oliver Elementary back into a middle school, including upgrading the library, science classrooms, and creating career technical classrooms. This will allow sixth graders to return to middle school level, giving students one additional year in middle school to prepare for high school, and allow increased opportunity for technical career focused learning at both middle schools.
The proposed bond would fund the following projects:
- Repairing and replacing roofs, boilers, foundations, windows and flooring, and other school facility improvements
- Upgrading school safety and security systems
- Adding gymnasiums to four schools that have no dedicated gyms
- Repurposing Oliver Elementary back into a middle school, including library, science, locker rooms and career technical improvements
- Refinancing existing capital obligations and paying bond issuance costs
Bond costs
Due to the retirement of a previous bond, the proposed bond measure is estimated to continue the District’s current bond tax rate of approximately $1.19 per $1,000 of assessed property value or $119 per year for property assessed at $100,000. Bonds would mature in 30 years or less from the date they are issued and may be issued in one or more series. Bond funds can only be used for capital projects, not operating costs. If passed, the District would be awarded a $7,464,690 State matching grant.
In planning for this bond measure, Centennial School Board convened a Long-Range Facilities Planning Committee made up of community members, energy conservation and construction professionals, parents, teachers, staff and principals. This committee toured each school, reviewed systems and analyzed information. From this work they developed recommendations for the School Board. This resulting bond measure includes the committee’s highest priority recommendations.
Accountability
If the bond is approved, the District will establish an independent community-based bond oversight committee to oversee bond funds.
Submitted by:
Dr. Paul Coakley, Superintendent
Centennial School District #28JT
NO ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION TO THIS MEASURE WERE FILED
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR
I am retired, and I support our schools. I graduated from Centennial High School almost 50 years ago.
I am careful about my household budget. I believe this measure not only makes good sense, it is a smart investment in our school buildings.
Measure 26-208 will protect our schools at no extra cost by replacing an expiring bond.
I retired from a 34-year career overseeing parks operations and maintenance. Last summer, I volunteered about 200 hours at Centennial High School to help improve the school grounds because I was concerned about the appearance at the schools. I could see that they need repairs.
The projects in this bond were identified as critical needs by facility experts who reviewed them for the community-based facilities planning process. They found that these buildings must be fixed or they won’t last.
I support the bond because the projects will extend the life of these buildings. We know it is much cheaper to repair them than to rebuild them. Just like your house, you have to maintain them or they will cost more to replace later.
I am a strong believer in continuing to help our schools—for our kids and our sense of pride in our community.
The good news is that Measure 26-208 was developed to keep the cost to taxpayers as low as possible. If this measure is approved, Centennial’s bond tax rate will not increase. We will pay the same rate we currently pay.
Please join me in supporting this measure. With no tax increase, it's a measure even those of us on fixed incomes can afford. I think our kids deserve a healthy and safe place to learn.
A well-maintained and operated school system is an asset to the community, increasing property values and instilling a sense of pride in students and the community.
Please VOTE YES for our schools and protect our investment in school buildings.
James Lind, Retiree, Alum, and Parent
(This information furnished by Rod Boettcher)
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR
Vote YES on Measure 26-208 to help our students, local businesses and community.
Our local economy relies on well-maintained, thriving schools to attract new residents, improve property values and train students to work locally and in the Portland Metro region.
Good schools contribute to a community where people want to live and work.
Your support of Measure 26-208 will provide an opportunity to hire local companies and workers, who will in turn support local businesses. The facility improvements will attract and retain educators and administrators at all grade levels.
Improved schools will attract families for long term investment in the neighborhoods. Most importantly, Measure 26-208 invests in our students who are part of the future work force.
Centennial school buildings are aging and need repairs.
The average school facility age is 55. A facility study identified more than $135 million in facility needs, of which $65 million are most critical.
Our schools have serious facility needs that haven’t been funded since the last bond passed in 2000. These are not cosmetic projects—the buildings need serious maintenance now.
Unfortunately, the operating budget can’t cover these
critical facility needs—new roofs, replacing heating systems, windows, flooring and more. If we don’t fix them now, the needs will cost much more later. Measure 26-208 will save thousands in tax dollars by improving operational building efficiency and reducing maintenance costs.
Measure 26-208 will replace an expiring bond and maintain the current tax rate.
Vote YES on Ballot Measure 26-208 to ensure that our children have access to world-class schools.
Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland
Jerry Hinton, Gresham City Council
Mark Wetzel, Mark's Point S Tire and CHS Alum
(This information furnished by Rod Boettcher)
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR
We are the Centennial Education Association (CEA) and we support the Yes for Centennial Kids campaign in support of Bond Measure 26-208. We do so because we appreciate and value the commitment our communities have invested in our schools over the years. As educators, we know students need educational environments that support their learning.
This proposal is based on high levels of community input. The following are just a few of the most important reasons teachers are supporting this bond proposal:
- The bond was designed to make critical repairs to schools and extend the life of our school buildings. The projects are necessary to prepare students for the future and reduce future costs for rebuilding the buildings if we don’t repair them.
- The bond will improve school safety with infrastructure projects, suggested by security experts and community groups, such as safety and security systems, intercoms, fire alarm systems and security cameras.
- The bond will fund projects to improve the energy efficiency of aging buildings and help save many thousands of dollars a year, which will reduce costs and put more money in the classroom for student learning.
We also recognize these important benefits for our community:
- This WILL NOT raise your tax rate. Centennial School District has designed the bond to replace and maintain an expiring bond.
- The district has, and will continue to be, financially responsible to our community by establishing a citizens’ bond oversight committee, which will ensure bond proceeds are used to fulfill construction plans.
- Our schools, and the services they offer to students and community members, provide a public good by providing appropriate and updated community spaces.
- This investment will help strengthen home values and promote a powerful sense of community within our schools.
For more information please visit www.yesforcentennialkids. com and www.csdbond2020.com.
Please join Centennial teachers in supporting Centennial students, schools, and the community by Voting YES on Measure 26-208!
(This information furnished by Alicia Brown, Centennial Education Association)
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR
We are parents and we support this important measure to repair schools and improve safety.
Many people don’t see the problems in our school buildings. As parents and volunteers in the buildings we can see how much these improvements are needed.
- Critical facility repairs
- Important school safety and security projects
This bond would fund the most critical projects to improve the buildings where children learn. It would improve the learning environment, make our schools safer, and not raise the current tax rate.
This is a smart and necessary investment in our schools, our students, and our community.
- The measure will replace an expiring bond and maintain the tax rate.
- The projects will improve efficiencies and save money on operational costs.
You don’t have to be a parent to know how important schools are to our community, but if you aren’t a parent, you may not know what the conditions are in our schools.
Our kids deserve to be warm while they are in class. Earlier this year, students had no heat in their classrooms. Centennial schools have outdated boilers for heat—and they cannot turn on early in the year.
Our kids deserve to play on a dry playground at recess. During a heavy rain this winter, the playgrounds were almost completely flooded at Pleasant Valley Elementary.
This bond is not about the extras—it’s about the necessities. We know because we see it in the buildings and we can do better.
Help us improve our schools so kids can learn. It won’t raise your tax rate, but it will make a big difference for education in our community.
Please join us. Support healthy and safe schools. VOTE YES on Measure 26-208!
Michele Es-Sahb,Butler Creek Elementary
Jess Hardin, Meadows Elementary
Roxie Sprick, Parklane Elementary
Shalon Dittler, Patrick Lynch Elementary
Jerry Ray, Pleasant Valley Elementary
Brandi Hutchison, Powell Butte Elementary
Julie Zimmerman, Oliver Elementary
Cherisse Huff, Centennial Middle
Myrna Jensen, Centennial High
(This information furnished by Rod Boettcher)
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR
Fix our schools, protect our investment, prepare our kids a successful future.
VOTE YES ON BALLOT MEASURE 26-208 FOR CENTENNIAL SCHOOLS
Centennial schools need critical repairs. School funding covers basic maintenance, but it is meant for education, not major facility repairs.
Our schools are aging—the average age is 55—and they have not had major maintenance projects since the last bond passed in 2000.
This bond would fix our schools with no additional financial impact on our community. It replaces an expiring bond from 2000, so there would be no rate change for bond costs for schools.
We support the Centennial School District bond measure to repair school buildings and make essential safety and security updates.
This is a time to take care of schools, which are an important center for our community. In these uncertain times, we need to make smart decisions. This proposal improves safety and security and will ensure that these buildings, which belong to our community, will last and can serve our immediate and future needs.
This measure will also help protect our economy by putting money back into our community—through projects that will employ local skilled workers and through additional economic activity that will bring money into our community and local businesses.
This bond is recommended by a community-based facilities review task force.
The projects are necessary. They were identified after a year- long process of careful review of what we need. They are the most critical projects, selected to cover immediate needs and maintain a low tax rate.
We stand behind this measure because it is based on careful and thorough planning and will fix our buildings and
improve the educational environment for our students and our educators.
Ballot Measure 26-208 is good for our community.
Please join us in voting yes.
Bob Tackett,
NW Oregon Labor Council, AFL-CIO
(This information furnished by Rod Boettcher)
The printing of these arguments does not constitute an endorsement by Multnomah County, nor does the county warrant the accuracy or truth of any statements made in the arguments.