By Steve Ritchie
The harmful effects of several years of budget cuts on instruction in the Mount Angel School District are hard to miss: fewer school days, larger class sizes, fewer elective classes, teaching and staff positions eliminated.
The budget shortfalls also have had a damaging impact on the district’s buildings, as some maintenance projects and necessary improvements have had to be deferred due to funding.
Without adequate funds from the state, some of those issues are becoming more visible and more pressing. The district had to borrow money earlier this year to complete urgently needed roof replacements during the summer months.
With the existing bond, passed in 1995 to fund construction of St. Mary’s Public School, set to expire in the near future, the Mount Angel School Board is seeking voter approval of a $10.4 million general obligation bond in the Nov. 5 election.
According to information produced by the Building Our Children’s Future Committee, a PAC formed to support the bond proposal, Measure 24-236 will “fund necessary renovations of aging school facilities (high school built in 1959, middle school in 1967) freeing up general funds that need to spent directly on student learning.”
If approved by voters, the bond-funded construction work would begin in the summer of 2014, and would be completed by the fall of 2014 for St. Mary’s and Mount Angel Middle School, and by the fall of 2015 for John F. Kennedy High School. The bond measure would increase the tax rate by an estimated 90 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.
The groundwork for the proposed bond measure came from a 22-member Long Range Facilities Planning Committee, made up of community members as well as school personnel. The committee met regularly over an 15-month period to study building needs, maintenance issues, and ways to improve the learning environment for students. The committee’s plan and recommendations were approved by the school board this summer.
Superintendent Troy Stoops believes the additional funding is necessary to adequately maintain and upgrade the district’s facilities.
“There haven’t been any major upgrades (to the high school building) in 60 years,” Stoops said. “Our state funding does not allow for funding the level of maintenance for what it requires to keep it maintained … $656,000 was borrowed this summer because we had roofing needs and drainage needs that we could not allow to continue to deteriorate, and (the loan also funded) some security and safety needs as well.”
“We have (adequate) building space in the district,” Stoops said. “It’s a matter of utilizing space better and in a more efficient manner. The classrooms in the spring and the fall are unbearable – it gets up to 85 degrees. For a minimal cost of $200,000 we can change the windows out and make the classrooms more conducive to learning. It doesn’t involve air conditioning, just changing the windows and the configuration of the windows.”
As the oldest building in the district, the high school is a particular focus of the proposed renovation. John Smith, director of maintenance for the district, says the high school building is sound, but it needs some critical improvements to stay that way.
“It’s going to make the atmosphere more modern,” Smith said. “This is a very well-built school. They just do not build buildings like this anymore. But, that being said, it was built in the ’50s and (addressed) ’50s technology – some classrooms have just two outlets. Back in the ’50s that was all you needed, but the classrooms now require more power and they have for a decade at least. Upgrading our electrical system would really help.”
Smith said the school plumbing system needs to be addressed, as well.
“(The plumbing is) 60 years old, it’s all old stuff. You can imagine what the 60 year-old pipes look like with this hard water going through it,” Smith said.
He added he has had to tear up the restroom floor at the high school the past two summers to repair problems in drainage lines. The maintenance staff has been cut in recent years, and Smith said doing “less patchwork” on electrical and plumbing would free up time to do other important tasks.
“We won’t have to put so many band-aids on,” he said. “It will be a much nicer place for kids to come to school.”
The members of the Building Our Children’s Future Committee are Jodi Arritola, Craig Emch, Shayne Kleinschmidt, Shari Riedman, Bill Schaecher, Kathy Wall, Pete Wall and Fr. Philip Waibel.
Riedman, who is serving as the chair along with Schaecher, believes improving local schools will benefit the entire Mount Angel community.
“I have two kids in Mount Angel schools and I am a graduate of Mount Angel School District as well,” Riedman said. “I have always felt very strongly that healthy schools generate a lot of positive energy and better results for the whole community, and especially the kids as they leave school and start adulthood.”
Riedman encourages community members to visit the district website (www.mtangel.k12.or.us) where they can read the 60-page facilities plan and recommendations. The list of specific improvement projects to be funded by the bond at each of the district’s schools is also on the website.
“The committee has done an excellent job of proposing practical projects,” Riedman said. “We’re not building a new school, we’re really working with what we have and improving learning environments.”
Riedman said she is especially excited about the proposed multi-purpose area at the high school, and the relocation of the middle school office to control access and enhance security. Student health and safety measures at all schools is also a priority of the bond.
Neither Riedman or Stoops said they are aware of any organized opposition to the bond measure.
“I would say the overall response has been very positive,” Riedman said. While the district encouraged public feedback on the long range facility plan, informational outreach on the bond has only recently begun.
Stoops believes that the renovation work will enhance the long term future of Mount Angel schools, and, perhaps, reduce the number of transfers to other districts. Mount Angel has historically had more in-flow of students from other districts, but that trend has changed recently. This year, an equal number of students have transferred “out” to other districts.
“I think the time is right,” Stoops said. “Schools do compete (for students) to some extent, and we want to make sure our schools are able to keep up with the technology needs, and that our facilities help create a culture of teaching and learning.
“The district has maximized every energy-efficiency grant that has been available to us. The next step is reaching out to the community to get their approval to get our facilities up to date with the surrounding communities and improve the livability of our community.”
