By Stephen Floyd
A May 2024 bond proposal seems less likely – but has not been ruled out – after the first meeting of the Silver Falls School District Board since the defeat of Measure 24-486 on Nov. 7.
The measure would have raised $138 million for school improvements including $75 million to replace Silverton Middle School. At the latest reported count it was failing by 55.71%.
During the board’s Nov. 13 meeting members discussed their reactions to the vote and potential next steps, though no policy decisions were made. The board agreed it would dive deeper into the options during the regular Nov. 27 workshop after administrators had a chance to compile and study election data.
During the Nov. 13 meeting, Chair Jennifer Traeger said conditions at the middle school are so dire that, without funding for a new facility, the district needs a plan to potentially vacate the building. Traeger said the plan should define what conditions would trigger a closure of the school and how the district would potentially relocate 440 middle schoolers.
“It’s irresponsible for us not to look at how we are going to educate the students in the Silverton Middle School boundary if we have to say, ‘We cannot use Silverton Middle School anymore,’” said Traeger. “And that could be for safety reasons, it could be for building reasons, it could be because we don’t want to put any more money [into the building]… Whatever the reason is, we need to be ready.”
Traeger said creating such a plan would likely require a significant amount of administrator time and working on such a plan and a May 2024 bond proposal could split staff efforts too far.
She asked for a report from administrators on what they believe would be needed both for the “What if?” middle school plan and a follow-up bond proposal.
Another reason to not go out for a May bond, said Vice Chair Aaron Koch, is because the district would not be able to qualify for a matching grant from the state. SFSD was approved for a $4 million grant through the Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching Program that was contingent upon voter approval of Measure 24-486.
The deadline has passed to qualify for a similar grant for a May bond proposal, Koch said. The district would need to wait until the November 2024 election cycle to apply again.
Board Member Tom Buchholz said a May bond proposal could benefit from the momentum created by Measure 24-486, but said there could be other benefits to waiting.
An existing bond to complete Silverton High School, passed in 2006, is set to expire in 2027. It is taxed at $2.02 per $1,000 of assessed value. Buchholz said, if the district proposes a follow-up bond to replace the expiring bond at the same rate, they could tell voters the new bond would not increase their taxes.
On the topic of vacating Silverton Middle School, Buchholz said he did the math. If as many students as possible were sent to the outlying K-8 schools, there would still be more than 200 students unassigned.
Buchholz and other board members said they understood the motivations of those who opposed the bond, from high inflation and fixed incomes to a mistrust of big government spending.
Buchholz said living in a small town allows a “Mayberry” lifestyle, but also means a lack of large industrial and commercial tax bases and the cost of infrastructure falls on everyday residents.
“In order to have nice facilities… we need to just come up with some money,” he said.
